Bellum Impium
by DairyProduceBasedCultLeader
Summary: With the Grimm Hordes threatening to eradicate all life on Remnant, the only option is to a war against them. Can they be defeated or is all hope lost? The answer lies in the hands of a small band of warriors from very different backgrounds. (Medieval AU)
1. Argus

It was the dead of night and a blizzard was battering the city of Argus. Normally the people would have been safely cooped up in their homes, riding out the storm as best they could. But this was far from a normal night, on this night the fate of the city hung in the balance. For Argus now stood alone as the last settlement on the continent of Anima, the Grimm Hordes having laid waste to the entire continent.

With the seemingly endless swarm rapidly closing in, there was no choice but to evacuate the population to the safety of the three surviving kingdom's. Unfortunately the adverse weather conditions hampered the evacuation attempts, so every available fighter was forced into a rearguard action in hopes of delaying the Grimm advance long enough to save the civilians.

Most of the military units in Anima had already been wiped out, so the defending army was comprised of the survivors from various different kingdoms and faction. The force was lead by General Leonardo Lionheart and the last remnants of the Mistrali Army, although they were in the minority. The rest of the force consisted of the Atlesian Expeditionary Force under General Jacques Schnee, the Valese Expeditionary Force under General Peter Port, the White Fang under Chief Ghira Belladonna, and the Branwen Tribe under Chief Raven Branwen.

The walls of the city were manned by the elite bowmen of Atlas, while the rest of the forces stood in formation just outside. They were waiting, waiting for the waves of doom to crash down upon them. It would have been a terrifying enough job in the middle of a clear day, but it was so much worse with the Grimm hidden from view by the darkness and the near whiteout conditions. To find out how close their hidden enemies were, a vanguard was sent out to locate them.

* * *

After a worryingly long time, a single member of the vanguard came riding out of the storm at full gallop. Her red cloak flapped wildly behind her, as she pushed her terrified horse as fast as it could go. Over the deafening wind she the her shouts could only just be heard "They're right behind me, brace yourselves!"

The lone rider had barely reached the front line of defenders when the creatures appeared out of the darkness, within seconds the whole area was crawling with Grimm from Boarbatusks to Death Stalkers. The skies weren't much better, they were suddenly filled with Griffons, Lancers, Manticores, Nevermores and Sphinxes.

As the ranged units launched their first volleys at the Grimm, the rider came to a stop and dismounted next to Generald Port. "I'm sorry sir, they killed everyone else. Captain Oobleck ordered me to retreat right before a Nevermore carried him off." she told the General, as she dropped to her knees before him.

The General sighed "Their sacrifice will be remembered, and we will fight on in their names. So get back on your feet Summer, we cannot allow our losses to break our resolve. I had hoped it would not come to this, but we must hold out at all costs." he told her. He was not the sort to throw away the lives of his own people, but that was all he could do now.

With her resolve strengthened by the General's words, she returned to her feet drawing the scythe that hung at her hip. "Yes sir, my Ruby is still waiting to leave and I will not let these monsters harm her, even if it costs me my life." she said, before turning and heading back to the front line, where a blond man was bludgeoning a boarbatusk with a giant mace.

He was too busy fighting to notice Summer's arrival, until the Beowolf in front of him lost its head to her scythe. "You gave me a hell of a scare there Sum, I thought I'd lost you." he said to her, before crushing the skull of a Creep that tried to bite him.

Summer decapitated another Beowolf before responding. "I told you Tai, neither of us can fall until Ruby is safe. Until the last ship leaves and I know she's on her way out of here, we have to keep fighting no matter what." she told him, trying to motivate him to fight to the bitter end. Even though she already knew that he would.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not letting anything get past this point until I know my little girl is safe. There may be no future for us, but I'll make sure we live long enough to give her a future." Tai told her, before smashing a jumping Creep out of mid air. As long as he had blood to lose, he would fight to protect his daughter.

"Listen Tai. Whatever happens to us, I just want you to remember that I love you with all my heart. The year's I've spent with you have been the best of my life, and I couldn't pick a better person to die with." she said, as she slashed the arms off an Ursa.

"Same to you Sum, same to you." Tai responded, as he helped her take down the Ursa. Neither of them expected to survive the battle, but they would fight together until they had nothing left to give.

* * *

Further along the front line, were the Branwens. They were a nomadic tribe but Anima was their homeland, and they would not let the Grimm take it without a fight. As such, every single member of the tribe was in the fight, they wouldn't retreat unless their Chief gave the order. But their Chief wasn't going to do that, she was more concerned with slaughtering everything that came her way.

With her trusty sword in hand, Raven carved her way through dozens of Grimm. "If I'm going to hell, I'm taking all of you with me!" she shouted at the seemingly endless wave of creatures, it was not the Branwen way to show weakness in the face of an enemy. It didn't matter that it was an unwinnable battle, she would not waver.

"Yeah, what she said." added the black haired man beside her, as he sliced the head off an Ursa with his great sword. He was cutting down just as many Grimm as she was, and he wasn't showing any sign of wavering either.

"I must admit Qrow, I was wrong about you. I thought you were going to run off again like you always used to." Raven commented to him, before she drove her sword clean through the chest of a Beringle which had joined the battle.

"I told you Rae, I'd start sticking around more when you stopped attacking the innocent." Qrow responded, as butchered several Grimm with a single swing of his blade. In the past the tribe had raided villages and killed innocent people, but their ways changed when the Grimm became a threat.

Their conversation was interrupted by a Nevermore swooping down to attack them, they both braced themselves to kill it the moment it got close enough. But they never got the chance to kill it, as a woman with cropped hair took it out of the sky with a crossbow bolt through its eye. It crashed to the ground at their feet, before vanishing.

"Thank you Vernal, your aim has certainly improved." Raven commended her, before dodging an attack from a Beowolf and impaling it through the head when it growled at her. "Now go and help Yang, there's a Death Stalker heading straight for her part of the line." she then ordered, showing she could fight one on one while also commanding her people.

"I'm on it." Vernal responded, before sprinting further along the line to where a blond girl was smashing Creeps with a warhammer. She wasn't too far away, but the onslaught made it quite a challenge to move down the line.

Yang and the tribe members around her were readying themselves to take on the enormous scorpion, when Vernal reached them. "Yang, I'll try try to shoot it in the eyes, but I'll need you to distract him for me." she told the blond, as she reloaded her crossbow.

"No problem, I've got this." Yang responded, before moving to draw the Death Stalker's attention away from Vernal. It repeatedly tried to catch her with it's pincers and impale her with its tail, but she dodged every attack and launched her own attacks when she could.

Though Yang was preventing it from attacking her, the creatures movements made it hard for Vernal to hit her target. She fire multiple bolts at it, only for it to move at the last possible moment. "Damn it. Yang I need you to keep it still for a little longer!" she shouted, it was the only way she could hit it.

"I'll see what I can do!" Yang shouted back, before coming to a complete stop right in front of the beast. It went for her with her stinger, but she jumped back at the last second and hammered the stinger into the ground. It screeched, but quickly fell silent when Vernal found her mark.

"Now that's what I call teamwork!" Vernal shouted in a brief celebration of the minor victory. But she was soon brought back to reality by a Nevermore feather shooting past her, and becoming embedded in the ground just behind her.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other flank, the White Fang were fighting for their lives. They had already been driven from their island home of Menagerie by the Grimm so they were especially adamant to hold the Grimm back. They had made their new home in Mistral, but that was about to be lost as well.

Leading them from the front was Ghira Belladonna, along with lieutenants Sienna Khan, Adam Taurus, and Saber Rodentia. Together the four of them managed to fell a Death Stalker, while their troops handled the smaller Grimm that came at them. "These creatures took our home from us, for that they must be destroyed." Ghira reminded them as they fought.

"With pleasure." Adam responded, before cutting several Grimm to ribbons with a series of slashes from his sword. He attacked the Grimm with such ferocity that the others had to stay away, to avoid accidentally being caught by his sword.

"They will pay for every drop of faunus blood they spilled." Sienna swore, before slicing her way through a number of creeps and a small Nevermore which flew too close to the ground. She fought with almost as much ferocity as Adam.

"I will do all I can to ensure our people make it out of here." Saber told Ghira, as they stuck together fighting a couple of Griffon's which had landed. Saber wasn't as ferocious a warrior as the other two, but he would still fight on against whatever Grimm monstrosities emerged from the darkness.

"You will be remembered by our people for generations to come Saber, even if we die out here. Our people will survive and they will know that we died so that they could live, you should be very proud of that." Ghira responded, he was as ready to die as the majority of Argus' defenders.

"With all due respect Chief, you should leave get out of here. Our people need a leader, they need you." Saber said. Ghira had held the White Fang together throughout all their hardships, and they would struggle if they were to lose him.

"Sorry Saber, but I won't be going anywhere. As Chief, it is my duty to ensure the safety of my people. So I will stand here and fight until the last ship has sailed. I understand your concerns but I can assure you, Kali and Blake will lead our people once I am gone and I'm sure they'll do a much better job than I ever did." Ghira replied. If he were to retreat, he would be failing in his duty as Chief.

* * *

On the walls of the city stood the Atlesian troops, who were busy providing cover for the troops on the while also repelling the flying Grimm. General Schnee was on the walls with them, overseeing the battle and issuing the occasional command. But for most of the battle, he just stood there silently watching the chaos unfold outside the walls.

By his side stood his two daughters, Winter and Weiss. While Winter had a weapon of her own and was doing her best to help with the battle, Weiss was just there to watch on her Father's orders. Weiss was horrified by what was unfolding before her eyes "This isn't a battle, it's a massacre." she said to her Father, hoping that would motivate him to do something.

"It's a necessary sacrifice, and you shouldn't be worrying about them. Just be grateful that our people are safe here, and we get to leave." Jacques told her, showing complete disregard for the lives of the people outside the walls.

"How can you say that? They deserve to live just as much as we do." she demanded to know, disturbed by how callous he was being. There had to be something wrong with him if he could be that way, while watching what was happening outside.

"That's just the thing Weiss, they don't deserve to live as much as we do. They are all animals and criminals, whereas we are Atlesians. This is a win, win situation for us. We can use them to hold the Grimm back, and we can leave them to be slaughtered when we no longer need them." Jacques explained, he smiled to himself once he finished. He was using the Grimm to wipe out the people he didn't like, and they had no idea. They still thought he was on their side.

"You're a monster, as much as the things out there are." Weiss told him, disgusted by his arrogance and bigotry. The people outside we were sacrificing themselves to save the innocent, and he was content to take advantage of that.

"You say that now Weiss, but one day you will thank me for this. One day you will realize that I'm doing us all a favour." he said, making it clear that she had no power over him. He didn't care what she called him, in his mind he was doing the right thing.

"I assure you Father, I will never thank you for this. This is pure evil, no matter what you say." Weiss snapped at him. With that said, she stormed off. She was furious with him, and couldn't stand another minute of being in his presence.

* * *

While everything else was going on the wall and beyond it, Kali Belladonna was overseeing the evacuation. The people feared for their live and panic was starting to set in, so she was doing her best to get everyone out of the city as quickly and safely as possible. "Everyone please remain calm, panicking will only make things worse." she told them as they moved past her, on their way to the ships.

"Things can't get any worse, we're all doomed. Evacuating is just delaying the inevitable, sooner or later the Grimm will kill us all. There's no point denying it." an old man said to her. Like many of Argus's residents, he had given up hope. The problem was as more people gave up, the Grimm were attracted in ever increasing number.

"It may seem like that now, but one day we will defeat them. One day we will drive them back to hell, and reclaim our homeland. But first we need to get out of here, escape is our first step toward victory." she responded. She had to keep the people moving forward, even if she didn't believe her own words. If anything she agreed with the man, but it was not yet time for giving up. As long as some of them got out of there, there was still hope.

"Don't try to give me false hope, it won't work. The Grimm can't be stopped, there are always more no matter how many you kill. All we can do is run and hide, until eventually there's nowhere left to go." he said, nothing Kali could say would give him hope. Which was understandable, the Grimm hadn't been stopped by anything that was thrown at them.

"You don't need hope, what you need to do is get on the boat. Unless you'd rather stay here and let them eat you." someone else responded, before Kali could saying anything else to the man. That was all the motivation he needed to hurry off in the direction of the ships.

Kali sighed "Thank you Blake, but please don't do that again. Making them more scared is going to attract more Grimm, and that's the last thing we need." she said. She was grateful that her daughter managed to get the man moving, but the way she did it was far from ideal given the situation.

"I'd rather scare them into leaving, than leave them here to die. If they don't get out of here then Dad's sacrifice will be in vain, and I won't let that happen." Blake countered. As she knew her father wouldn't be coming back from the battle, the least she could do was make his sacrifice worth it.

* * *

Back on the wall, a girl had snuck up to watch the battle outside. As she peered out into the darkness, she could see her parents fighting side by side against the endless horde of Grimm. She loved seeing them in action, but at the same time she was extremely worried. Before they had gone out they had told her not to worry about them, but she wasn't naive enough to fall for that. She knew they were in an incredibly dangerous position, with a high likelihood of death.

Watching her parents taking out everything that went for them was somewhat reassuring, but a sense of dread still filled her. She wanted to look away in case something bad happened to them, but at the same time she couldn't. She just kept on watching, whispering words of encouragement to them "You can do this, I believe in you." she said, hoping by some miracle they would hear her and be inspired to fight harder.

As she continued to watch, she started imagining herself fighting by their side. She imagined herself cutting down Grimm with a scythe of her own, helping her parents to carve through wave after wave of the creatures. In her mind they would work together to defeat all the Grimm, and save the city. She stayed that way for hours, imagining overcoming the horde while watching her parents fight on.

As far as she could tell, the battle wasn't as hopeless as it initially seamed. The line was still holding, and the Grimm were being rapidly dispatched. Unfortunately, a ear piercing shriek and the sound of demonic hooves made it clear that the situation was about to change. The girl, Ruby. Knew exactly what the sounds meant, a fact which was confirmed by a shout from one of the city's defenders "Nuckelavee!" All the hope left her as the creature emerged from the darkness, ready to slaughter the unfortunate souls outside.

The moment the Nuckelavee arrived, the line started to break. The creature easily fended off any attack that came its way, while also tearing everyone in its path to shreds. To make matters worse, the other Grimm started to have more luck as the rest of the defenders started to focus on the main threat.

Knowing she wasn't safe and that her parents probably weren't going to survive, Ruby retreated from the wall. As fast as her legs would carry her, she sprinted in the direction of the docks. As she ran she had to dodge repeated attacks from the flying Grimm, which had now managed to get past the walls.

All hope was lost at this point, and she considered just giving up and letting the Grimm end her. But one thing spurred her on "They fought to keep me safe, I have to survive for them." she reminded herself. Her parents sacrificed themselves so that she could be safely evacuated from the city, so giving up was not an option. She had to reach one of the ships.

* * *

The Atlesian archers had turned their attention away from the flying Grimm, in favor of pouring everything they had into felling the demonic horseman. This was their undoing, as the winged Grimm took the opportunity to strike. Before they could even try to defend themselves, they were engulfed in flames and torn apart by projectiles.

Not even General Schnee himself was spared from the onslaught, a Lancer's stinger impaling him through the chest. He looked down at his chest, before looking at Winter who was taking cover near him. "Do what must be done, let the animals die." he said to her. He then stumbled backwards, falling over the side and plummeting to the ground below.

Winter had a choice to make. She could either keep the gates closed leaving those outside to perish as her father had ordered, or she could open the gates allowing them in and granting them a chance of survival. Opening the gates would allow the Grimm in too, but the last of the ships were almost ready to leave so the risk to civilians would be minute.

Just like Weiss, she didn't agree with her father. She was nothing like him, and she would not carry on as he did. So after only a few seconds of consideration, she gave the order. "Open the gates!". The surviving Atlesians were of the same mind as her, and the opened the gates without question.

* * *

The White Fang was almost wiped out when the Nuckelavee attacked, but the Chief and his lieutenants were still fighting. They killed everything that came at them, but they all knew the battle was almost lost. So when the gates opened behind them, Ghira made a call. "All of you retreat inside, I'll buy you some time." he said.

The few surviving troops followed his orders eagerly, glad to be escaping the onslaught no matter how briefly. But the lieutenants stood firm "We're not going anywhere Chief, we will not abandon you." Saber said, speaking on his own behalf and on behalf of the other two.

"You're courage is admirable but I have made my decision, now you will retreat. In there you can still hold them back, out here you're sitting ducks." Ghira ordered. He wasn't asking them to retreat, he was telling them as his final act as Chief. With that said, he roared at the Grimm before charging straight.

Adam and Sienna followed the order without question, falling back to the city as quickly as they could. But Saber was too stubbornly loyal to Ghira, rather than retreating he charged in after the Chief. Unfortunately he didn't get very far, as a Griffon swooped down and swallowed him whole.

"No!" Ghira shouted, having seen what happened out of the corner of his eye. Sadly, the momentary distraction cost him dearly. An Ursa slashed him across the chest, bringing him to his knees. Of course he wasn't done just yet, he drove drove his sword through the Ursa, killing it before the wave of Grimm brought his own end.

* * *

For the Branwens, things were going terribly. A King Taijitu had attacked just after the Nuckelavee, decimating their numbers. Qrow managed to kill the snake by plunging his sword through its head, but the damage was already done. Even with their superior combat ability, Raven and Qrow were really struggling without the tribe to back them up. They had Vernal and Yang, but that meant little in the face of such adversity.

As they were gradually driven backwards towards the wall, it became clear that it was the end of the road for the tribe. The Grimm would soon become to much for even them, and their culture and history would die with them. Still, they would not go down quietly, they would fight to the bitter end ensuring that the tribe died as it had lived.

But then the gates were opened, and gave them a last chance. A last chance to keep the tribe alive, to keep the fight going for at least a little while long. Unfortunately they couldn't all retreat, the Grimm would kill them all before they reached the gate if they all went. "Yang, Vernal. I'm so proud of both of you, you've proven yourselves worthy of the Branwen name." Raven said, knowing what had to be done to keep the tribe alive.

The girl's were about to respond, but Raven cut them of. "I know you would both fight with us to the very end, and for that I am truly grateful. But we need you to survive, we need you to rebuild the tribe. So go, get out of here." she told them, making in absolutely clear that she didn't want them to die with her and Qrow.

"Branwen's don't retreat, we stand and fight to the very end. We won't leave your side." Yang responded, as she and Vernal stood their ground. Retreating in this situation went against everything they had been taught in the tribe, they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

"Don't defy me. You are the last hope for the tribe, and I'm not letting you throw it away. Now go, and maybe one day you can avenge us." Raven ordered. The tribe had to survive, the girls had to survive. She and Qrow could die happy knowing that they did, but for that to happen the girls had to leave immediately.

Taking Raven's words to heart, Vernal and Yang obeyed her. "It's been an honor, and we will avenge you." Vernal said, as her parting words to the two older Branwens. "I love you both, and I'll see you in the next life." Yang added. With those parting words, the two of them retreated. Neither of them wanted to go, but they knew it was what they had to do.

With the two girls gone, the siblings looked at each other. "You ready for this Rae?" Qrow asked, already knowing what her answer would be. He just needed a little more time to prepare himself was what to come, accepting that he would inevitably be ripped apart by Grimm wasn't exactly easy.

Raven nodded "Ready as I'll ever be. See you on the other side, brother." she responded. She was ready to die, as long as she could take a few Grimm down with her. With that in mind, she charged straight at the Nuckelavee with Qrow right beside her. If they were going to die, so was it,

With a flurry of slashes the Branwen siblings did what everyone else failed to do, they took down the Nuckelavee. Sadly there was no time to celebrate the victory, as the surrounding Grimm swarmed them the moment their assault came to an end. But even as they were ripped to pieces by the beasts, they showed no fear or weakness. That was how a true Branwen went out.

* * *

While everyone else either retreated or perished, Taiyang and Summer still fought on. They were completely exhausted from hours of intense combat, but they kept going. They were the only ones left to keep the majority of the Grimm out of the city, they couldn't stop the flying ones but they could hold back everything else.

"Just a little longer Sum, just a little longer and the last ship will sail." Tai commented, as he continued to beat the Grimm back with his mace. Soon they could stop fighting, safe in the knowledge that Ruby was out of the city.

"I wish it didn't have to end like this, but I'm glad I got to share my last moments with you." Summer responded. She was as happy as she could be, given the situation. Her death wouldn't be gentle, but at least she had Tai by her side.

Tai didn't get a chance to respond, out of nowhere a Nevermore feather hit him right between the eyes. It went straight through his skull and straight into his brain, killing him where he stood. He rocked on his feet for a moment, before dropping to the floor.

Summer was horrified, she dropped her scythe and fell to her knees in defeat. The Grimm around her all moved in for the kill, but they were stopped in their tracks. Summer screamed, as a blinding flash of white light burst from her eyes. In an instant, every Grimm within miles of her turned to stone.

That one act did enough damage to the Grimm to allow for the safe evacuation of every civilian and soldier in Argus, but it came at a cost. The strain it put on her body proved to much for Summer. She died there, kneeling next to her deceased lover.

* * *

**So I went ahead and started yet another fanfic on top of all my others. Please let me know what you think, depending on general opinion I may or may not continue this one.**


	2. The Voyage

**So I did another chapter of this to see how it goes.**

* * *

Aboard the last ship out of Argus, the atmosphere was thick with regret. Though they had escaped the Grimm, they couldn't escape the sense of loss. Since they emerged, the Grimm had killed every living thing they encountered and reduced every settlement to ruins.

Yang and Vernal were busy walking around the ship, discussing recent events and the future of the tribe. "So, it's just us now." Yang said, still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Raven, Qrow and the rest of the tribe.

Vernal sighed "Yeah, I guess that means you're the new chief." she responded. Even though there were only two of them left, the tribe still needed a chief. The day there was nobody left to lead, would be the day the tribe officially went extinct. Vernal would not let that happen.

Yang raised an eyebrow "You sure about? shouldn't you be chief since you're older?" she asked. She felt that being older and thus having more experience, made Vernal a much better candidate for chief. So she didn't understand why Vernal didn't see it that way.

"Age doesn't matter. You're a Branwen by blood, that makes you the chief." Vernal explained. From its foundation the tribe had always been led by someone of Branwen blood. Yang was one of them, so she was meant to take over the role. Vernal was older but she wasn't a Branwen by blood, and thus didn't qualify to be the chief.

"Alright then, I'll do it. But I'll need your help." Yang conceded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to change Vernal's mind. But accepting the role, didn't mean she would lead the tribe on her own. She needed Vernal's help, and would need it even more as they rebuilt.

Vernal put her hand on Yang's shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Relax Yang, you know I'll do everything I can to help you and the tribe succeed." she said. Her loyalty to the tribe was absolute, so I'm her mind there was no doubt about giving Yang all the help she needed.

Yang knew she could rely on Vernal, and she was extremely grateful to her "Thanks V, there's no way I could rebuild the tribe on my own." she told her. She was incredibly glad that Vernal survived with her, as she doubted she could bring the tribe back by herself.

"It's not going to be easy, but I'm sure we'll figure something out." Vernal said. With their numbers so depleted, things would be far from easy. But Vernal was confident that the two of them together would manage. They would return the tribe to its former glory, and make the Grimm suffer for what they did.

With Vernal giving her a real confidence boost, Yang was ready to start rebuilding. "Well, I guess we can start here. We can probably convince some of the other survivors to join us." she said, before heading off in search of recruits on the ship. Unquestioningly, Vernal quickly went about doing the same.

* * *

At the bow of the ship, stood a girl who felt the loss more than most. Ruby's parents were gone, they were all she had in the world and the Grimm had taken them from her. She felt utterly lost without them "What do I do now? How am I supposed to go on without you?" She asked, hoping for some guidance from beyond the grave.

Unsurprisingly, no response came. She was alone with nobody to guide her, which made it incredibly hard to remain hopeful. "So much for that idea." she said to nobody in particular. The only thing keeping her going, was the need to honor her parents sacrifice and make them proud.

"There has to be something I can do, I'm sure I can make myself useful to someone." she told herself. Despite everything, she couldn't just give up. She had to make a life for herself, she had to find a way to sustain herself. So, she started thinking about how she would do it.

She'd always had an interest in weapons, and her parents had taught her how to make them. So she loved the idea of doing that for a loving. But she also wanted to join the fight against the Grimm, so she wanted to become a soldier. Unfortunately, she doubted that anyone would be willing to hire an orphaned girl. "Oh who am I kidding, nobody's going to give me a chance." she told herself, giving up on her ideas.

"I wouldn't say that." some responded to her, snapping her out of her thoughts and making her jump in surprise. Turning around, she found a blonde girl a few years older than herself. She had seen the girl a few times before, but they hadn't spoken spoken.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked her, not knowing anything about the girl. She was confused as to why the girl decided to talk to her, they were complete strangers after all.

"Yang, Yang Branwen." she introduced herself, giving a slight bow afterwards. "Now how about you tell me who you are?" She then asked. She knew Ruby about as well as Ruby knew her, but she was polite and friendly.

Ruby smiled at Yang, glad to at least known who she was. "I'm Ruby…" She started to introduce herself in return, but she was stopped in her tracks when realization struck her. "Wait, you're from that tribe?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Yang's expression hardened at the question "Yeah, you got a problem with that?" she asked, becoming defensive. A lot of people had problems with the Branwen Tribe for what they used to be like before the Grimm became a threat, so her reaction was quite understandable.

Ruby panicked, worried that she'd offended Yang. She shook her head and waved her hands vigorously to show she hadn't meant anything by it. "No, that's not what I meant. I just didn't think any of you survived." she defend, hoping it would calm things down. She genuinely hadn't realized any Branwens had survived, so she was being honest with Yang.

Yang's expression softened "Good to know." she said, glad that Ruby didn't look down on her and her people. "Anyway we almost didn't survive. There are only two of us left now, just me and Vernal." she then explained, clearing up Ruby's confusion about the tribe. She didn't like thinking about what she'd lost, but it was an inescapable truth.

Ruby was relieved that she hadn't annoyed Yang too much, but she now felt bad for her. "I know how you feel, I lost people in the battle too." she said. She could really sympathize with Yang, having experienced losses of her own. She had a lot more in common with Yang than she had expected.

Yang nodded "So I figured, which is why I came here." she explained. She had seen Ruby before but only ever with other people, so seeing her alone was a good indicator that she had lost people. "I'm no expert with people, but I can tell when someone's having a hard time." she added. She'd learned how to read to read people quite well, during her time with the tribe.

"Thanks, I guess it's nice to know I'm not completely alone." Ruby responded, somewhat surprised by how nice and understanding Yang was being. She had never expected a Branwen to be like that, not after everything she'd heard about them.

Yang shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it "No need to thank me. Now, about that thing you said, the thing about nobody giving you a chance." she said, getting back to the reason she first spoke to Ruby.

"Yeah, what about it?" Ruby asked. She didn't know how much Yang had heard, or what she was thinking. Despite the fact Yang was being nice, she couldn't understand why she was taking any interest in her plans for the future.

Yang smiled "Well, I'm offering you a chance. We're rebuilding the tribe, and you can join us if you're willing to put in the effort." she explained. She didn't know much about Ruby, but she needed to rebuild the tribe and was willing to offer her a place in it.

Yang's response only confused Ruby further "Why me? I'm not cut out for your tribe." she questioned. In her mind, she was in no way suited for joining the tribe. They were trained as warriors from birth, whereas she only had a little training to protect herself.

"Maybe you aren't right now, but you could be. If you want to avenge the people you lost, we can help you do that. We can train you and turn you into a warrior like us, then we can take down the Grimm together." Yang answered. Between herself and Vernal, training Ruby would be easy as long as she was willing to learn.

Ruby was conflicted "I don't know what to say." she told Yang. She wanted to fight against the Grimm and she was being offered the opportunity to do that, but she wasn't sure if the tribe was really for her. When she had imagined herself fighting, it had always been for one of the kingdoms rather than a former bandit tribe.

"How about say yes, there's nothing left to lose but so much to gain." Yang pointed out. Things couldn't get much worse for Ruby, but they could get so much better if she joined the tribe. Then she wouldn't be alone, she could sustain herself better, and she could do what she'd always wanted to.

It quickly became clear to Ruby, that turning Yang down would be a stupid idea. "Good point, the Grimm need to pay for taking my parents from me. I guess that means I'm in." she decided. She had never expected the situation to come about, but she was going to take full advantage of it.

Yang was pleased with Ruby's decision "Great, welcome to the tribe." she said happily. Then she reminded herself of Ruby's situation and added "Oh, and I'm sorry about your parents. I never met my dad and I just lost my mom, so I know what you're going through." with Ruby now in the tribe, she would do everything she could to make her feel better.

Ruby was overwhelmed. Yang had just walked up to her, tried to make her feel better and offered her the opportunity of a lifetime. "Thank you Yang, for everything." she said, before throwing her arms around her and hugging her tightly.

* * *

Below deck, Weiss and Winter were having their own conversation. A lot had changed for them thanks to the death of their father, so they had much to discuss. "Is it bad that I don't feel bad about his death?" Weiss asked. She had really grown to hate Jacques, so she shed no tears when she learned of his death.

"It is not. He was a coward and a bigot, he deserved the fate that befell him." Winter responded. She two hated the man, especially after what he said during the battle. So she felt exactly the same as her sister did, not even considering grieving.

Weiss was relieved that they were on the same page, she hated the idea of disagreeing with her. "Thank you Winter, it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one to think that. Though I can't imagine the people at home will be of the same opinion." she said. Winter was one of the few decent Atlesians in Weiss opinions, and she was certain that most other Atlesians would have a different opinion of their father.

Winter sighed heavily "Unfortunately they are too much like him to agree with us, so we shall have to pretend to mourn once we return." she responded. Thanks to the way Atlesian society was, Jacques would be considered a hero and the sisters would be vilified for not feeling the same way about him.

As much as it pained her, Weiss knew that Winter was right. "I understand, and for that reason I no longer wish to return home. As comfortable as our lives there are, I can no longer bear to live with such people." she told her sister. She couldn't stand her father and she couldn't stand her fellow Atlesians either, so returning to her life in Atlas was absolutely not an option.

"That's a big decision to make Weiss. I cannot go with you if you choose to leave, so I advise you to think carefully." Winter responded. She understood why Weiss felt the way she did and she didn't think it was bad, but it was still a huge change that need to be careful considered first.

Weiss understood the magnitude of her decision, having been secretly considering it long before her Father's death "My mind is already made up Winter, but I would prefer to have you with me. Is there no way I can convince you to join me?" she was dead set on living away from Atlas, but she hoped she wouldn't have to do it alone.

Winter sighed again. "I'm afraid it's as simple as me choosing to leave Atlas. As the new head of the house, I must return to Atlas to serve the kingdom." she explained. With Jacques' death, she was now the head their family. While that was good because she could do a better job than her father, it was bad because it meant she had to answer directly to the King.

Weiss was disappointed "Couldn't you just leave the house in someone else's hands." she asked, hoping there was another way. Regardless of what happened, she wouldn't be returning to Atlas. But still, she would be greatly saddened if that meant being separated from Winter.

"I'm sorry Weiss, but Atlesian politics is far too complex to permit that. If I tried to leave I'd be branded a traitor, and you know what they do to traitors." Winter sadly answered. The price of her joining Weiss was far too high to risk, she would be dealt with brutally if she even tried.

Weiss was horrified. "The Blood Eagle." she said, recalling the Atlesian punishment for treason. It was a brutal method of execution, originally used in the ancient kingdom of Mantle. It was so horrific that just the idea of it happening to Winter almost made her throw up.

"Exactly, and I can't risk that. But that doesn't mean you are bound to the kingdom, in fact I want you to make a new life for yourself. I want you to be free." Winter said, wanting to make Weiss feel better. Though she couldn't join her sister, she still wanted the best for her.

Weiss nodded "Well that is what I shall do, I will be remaining in Vale once we arrive. Thank you Winter, thank you for granting me what Father wouldn't." she said. She would be eternally grateful to Winter, even if they wouldn't be staying together.

Winter smiled, happy that Weiss would be starting a life of her own. "Don't mention it Weiss, you deserve a life of your own and I know you will not waste this opportunity." she responded. She was incredibly proud of Weiss and knew she would make the most of her freedom from Jacques and Atlas as a whole.

Weiss have her sister a brief hug, before saying. "You truly are the best sister on Remnant. Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm going for a walk." She really couldn't thank Winter enough, so she would go for a walk and try to think of something she could do in return.

"I won't stop you Weiss, do whatever you like." Winter told her, she wouldn't control Weiss like Jacques had. Weiss could do anything she wanted, finally liberated from his oppression.

* * *

Away from everyone else, Blake was talking with her friend Ilia. "How are you feeling?" Ilia asked, wanting to make sure Blake wasn't taking her father's death too badly. Blake didn't seem like she was suffering, but Ilia knew that she was very good at concealing her true feelings.

Blake released a slight sigh. "I'm going to miss him, but I can't afford to be sad. I need to stay strong, and it would just attract the Grimm anyway." She explained. One of few things know about the Grimm, was that negative emotions attracted them. So Blake was doing her best, to suppress her feelings about Ghira's death.

Ilia nodded, understanding the reason for Blake's lack of emotion. "Well, I want you to know that I'm here for you. I've been where you are now, and I don't want you suffering like I did." she said. Having lost her own parents, she understood Blake's pain. So as Blake's friend, she would use that experience to help her.

"I appreciate it Ilia, I couldn't ask for a better friend. Now why don't you tell me what's bothering you, I can tell you're holding something back." Blake responded. She really appreciated Ilia's friendship and kindness, and she wanted to help her out in return. She knew her friend well enough, to know that she was hiding something.

Ilia sighed, knowing she couldn't keep secrets from Blake "I don't want to go to another human kingdom, why can't we start a new one for ourselves?" she said. Humanity and the Faunus were constantly at odds with each other, so living in a human kingdom wasn't easy for a faunus.

Blake shared Ilia's sentiment, but understood that they needed there was no real alternative. "I don't like living in their kingdoms either, but they're the safest places for us right now." she said, trying to make Ilia understand.

"Maybe they are, but the people there all look down on us." Ilia responded. What she was saying was true, which made it harder to accept having to live in one of the kingdoms.

"I see your point Ilia, but not all humans are like that. Surely you've noticed that by now." Blake told her. She knew how bad humans could be, but she had encountered many good ones since fleeing Menagerie.

Ilia shook her head, unable to agree with Blake. "All I've seen is humans trying to manipulate us into helping them, we can't trust them Blake." she said. Humans played a part in the death of her parents, so she really didn't trust any of them.

"What about the Branwens? They don't care about race" Blake questioned. The Branwens weren't like the humans from the kingdoms, they treated everyone equally. They may have been bandits, but they weren't discriminatory.

Ilia raised an eyebrow "You realize who you're talking about right? They're bandits Blake." she pointed out. Given the nature of the Branwen Tribe, trusting them seemed like a terrible idea. Bandits weren't know for being trustworthy.

"They don't seem that way to me, not anymore. They've been sacrificing for all of us, that's not the kind of thing bandits would do." Blake countered. While the Branwens had been bandits in the past, the Grimm had changed them. They sacrificed more than anyone else, being almost completely wiped out by the creatures.

Ilia had to concede to Blake. "I guess you're right about that, we can probably trust them more than the other humans." she said. She knew the tribe didn't care about race, and she had to admit that they were no longer acting like bandits.

Blake was glad that Ilia was on the same page with her about the Branwens "Exactly and since there are only two of them left, I think we should try to befriend them." she explained. She had wanted to get closer to the tribe for a while, and this was her opportunity to do it.

Ilia wasn't sure Blake's idea would work out. "I doubt they'll be in the mood for that, not after everything that's happened." she told her. She wouldn't have been in the mood for making friends if the White Fang was wiped out, so she didn't think the surviving Branwens would be.

"Actually, I think they'll appreciate it. Right now they only have each other, their families and all there friends are gone." Blake explained. Having lost everything, she believed that the tribe would be more than willing to make new friends. It would make things so much easier for them, as far as she could tell.

Ilia decided to agree with Blake, having faith in her judgement. "In that case, I guess we should at least try. We probably shouldn't waste the opportunity to make some genuine human allies." she said. As much as she disliked humans, she agreed that befriending some of them wouldn't hurt as long as they could be trusted.

Blake smiled at Ilia, then said "Let's go and find them, there's no point delaying this. Just remember, not all humans are bad." before heading off to find them with Ilia close behind. With any luck, they could start improving Human-Faunus relations.

* * *

**Well, time to sit back and see if anyone thinks this is worth reading. See Ya.**


	3. Sailing to Vale

**So, I'm sticking with this story I guess.**

* * *

Vernal was walking around looking for recruits for the tribe, when she spotted a girl who was very clearly a Schnee. She knew about General Schnee's death, so she decided to see how the girl was doing "You okay there Schnee?" she asked, upon reaching the girl.

Weiss hadn't been expecting anyone to talk to her, so she didn't quite hear what was said to her. All she had heard was something involving her name, which automatically put her on the defensive "Excuse me?" she asked in a somewhat confrontational manner, half expecting it to be someone who hated her just for her name.

Vernal raised her hands, gesturing that she had no ill intentions. "I was just wondering if you were doing alright, given everything that just happened." she explained, trying to diffuse the situation. After everything that had happened, she was genuinely interested in how the girl was. After all, they couldn't afford to be against each other when they had the Grimm to deal with.

Weiss felt bad for immediately assuming it was something negative, she said "Oh sorry. I'm fine thank you. How are you?" She was more than fine, now that she was free from her father's oppression. Out of politeness and genuine concern, she wanted to know if the other person was fairing as well as she was. Most people hadn't benefited from the events at Argus, like she had.

Vernal shrugged, then said "I'm probably as good as I can be, after losing pretty much everything and everyone I ever knew." It was a hard situation to stay positive in, but she was coping. Mainly out of necessity and because she still had Yang. So, in reality she probably was doing as well as she could given the circumstances in which she found herself.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Miss..." Weiss started, before realizing that she didn't know who she was actually speaking to. It was so rare for her to talk to strangers, that she wasn't used to having to ask for people's names. The people she usually interacted with were well now members of Atlas' elite, and they didn't require introduction. So the situation she found herself in, was a rather difficult one for her.

"Vernal, Vernal Branwen. Anyway thanks, I appreciate it." Vernal introduced herself, extending a hand to the Schnee girl. She may have been raised as a bandit and spent her entire life fighting, but she could still be civil when it was required.

"You're a Branwen?" Weiss asked, as she shook Vernal's hand. Of all the people on the ship, a Branwen was not who she'd expected to find herself talking with. Her father certainly wouldn't have approved of her talking with such a person, he hated them about as much as he hated the faunus.

"By name only I'm afraid, my sister is the only true Branwen." Vernal explained. She had been given the name by Raven, but she didn't consider herself a true Branwen. In her opinion, only people of the Branwen bloodline could possibly be considered a true Branwen. Everyone else in the tribe was just a follower, and could never lead the tribe.

"Your sister?" Weiss asked. She was confused, not knowing very much about the Branwens or their fate at Argus. Meeting one of them was a surprise, hearing that there was at least one other was quite a shock.

"Yeah. Her name's Yang, she's the last of the Branwen bloodline and new chief of the tribe." Vernal told her. They were biologically related, but she still considered Yang to be her sister. She would never consider herself to be Yang's equal, but she would always consider herself to be Yang's sibling. They had been raised together, and had been incredibly close for most of the time they had known each other.

"It's good to know the Branwens survive. I was afraid you had all perished." Weiss responded. She was genuinely glad that they had survived, they weren't the bandits they used to be and she couldn't bare the idea of them being entirely wiped out. If they had been taken out at Argus, she would have blamed her father for it and blamed herself for not doing anything to help them.

"Well there are only two of us left, but it takes more than a few Grimm to take us out." Vernal said. The Grimm almost did take them out, but they had to put that behind them if they were ever going to succeed. They had to tell themselves that they could overcome the Grimm, or it would be much harder to fight back against them. Morale was as important as any weapon, when it came to fighting such an enemy.

Weiss nodded, clearly the Branwens were extremely resilient. "So it would seem. Now, may I ask what your plans are for the future?" she asked. She was curious about how they would keep going, after being forced out of their homeland. As nomads they were used to travelling, but she wasn't sure how they would adapt to life on a new continent.

"We're going to rebuild the tribe, and then we're going to make the Grimm pay for what they did to us." Vernal replied. All they really could do was try to rebuild, and hope that they were able to grow enough to pose a real threat to the Grimm. Otherwise they'd basically be throwing their lives away, and dooming the tribe to extinction.

"An admirable goal, if only there were more people like you in the world." Weiss said. She couldn't help but admire the bravery and commitment of Vernal, they were qualities distinctly lacking in the people of Atlas. In her opinion, Atlas and Remnant as a whole, would be much better off with more people like Vernal.

Vernal appreciated the comment, it was rare that anyone considered the tribe or their actions to be admirable. "Thanks Schnee. How about you? What are going to do now?" she asked. She assumed that the girl would be making her way back to Atlas as quickly as she could, in her experience Atlesians hated being away from their home for too long.

It struck Weiss at that moment, that she had forgotten something important. Her status meant that she usually never had to introduce herself, so that had slipped her mind. "Apologies I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Weiss. Now in answer to your question, I want to start a new life for myself in Vale." she said. She couldn't help smiling, at the thought of no longer living in Atlas. Just the idea filled her with excitement, and she was happy to share her plans with Vernal.

It was not an answer Vernal had been expecting. "You surprise me Weiss. I thought you'd be heading back to Atlas." she responded. The fact that she was even willing to talk was a sign that Weiss wasn't like most Atlesians, but this made it clear that she was nothing like the rest of her people.

Weiss could understand the surprise, given the reputation Atlas had gained itself. "I've wanted to get away from that place for a long time, but I couldn't while my father was still alive." she explained, recalling the many in her life that she had planned on running away from home.

"Wait. Does that mean you're glad he's dead?" Vernal asked. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, Weiss was really changing her idea of what an Atlesian could be like. She thought they were all extremely stuck up and utterly convinced of their superiority and the superiority of their Kingdom, but Weiss wasn't like that at all.

Weiss wasn't sure how Vernal would feel about her next answer, but she wasn't going to lie. "I know you may think less of me for it, but yes. I'm incredibly glad that he's gone, he was terrible to me and everyone else." she said. Her father was one of the worst people she'd ever had the misfortune of meeting, and she most definitely didn't think of his death as a bad thing. If anything, his death made the world better for her and everyone else.

"I won't judge you for that, and I don't doubt that he was as bad as you say." Vernal responded. She was impressed by Weiss and her attitude. Rather than thinking less of her, her opinion of the girl was actually improved.

Weiss really appreciated Vernal's response, she was far more understanding and had a far better sense of justice than most Atlesians. "That's very kind of you Vernal, you're so much better than the people of Atlas." she said. She really wished that she could change the people of her home country, and make them more like Vernal.

Vernal cracked a smile at Weiss statement. "That says a lot about the Atlesians, I mean I was a bandit until the Grimm turned up." she pointed out. She already thought Atlesians were bad people, but Weiss made it clear that they were truly awful. If a former bandit like herself could be considered better than them, then the people of Atlas were really the lowest of the low.

"Trust me, Atlesians are so much worse than bandits." Weiss responded. She really hated her fellow Atlesians, especially after her conversation with Winter. The more she thought about them, the more convinced she was that moving to Vale was the right decision.

"In that case, I can see why you don't want to go back. But what are you going to do in Vale?" Vernal asked. She could certainly understand why Weiss wanted to move, but she was curious as to what exactly she would do once she ended up in a new kingdom. It wasn't a thing Atlesians did, so it would be interesting to see how it went for Weiss.

"I'm not sure to be honest, I'm trying to work that out." Weiss said. She still wasn't sure what she would do once she reached Vale, which was one of the reasons whey she was talking a walk in the first place.

An idea came to Vernal at that point, she wasn't sure if it would work but she tried it anyway. "I know what you could do, for a while at least. You could stick with me and Yang, we'll be staying in Vale for a while." she told Weiss. She had quickly grown to like Weiss and she thought it would be interesting to join them even if it was just temporary.

"That's a tempting offer, but are you sure your sister would be okay with that?" Weiss asked. She did quite like the idea of staying with them, but she doubted Yang would be as willing to accept her as much as Vernal was. Especially since she had very little in common with them, in terms of upbringing and lifestyle.

"Why wouldn't she?" Vernal asked. Knowing what Yang was like, she was almost completely certain that she would accept Weiss. So unless there was something major she didn't know and wouldn't like about Weiss, she could see no reason why Yang wouldn't approve.

"Well I can fight, but I'm not a warrior like you." Weiss explained. She was a proficient duelist, but she didn't come close to the Branwens in terms of skill and experience. So she was fairly certain that they wouldn't want someone like her.

"Relax Weiss. I don't care that you aren't like us and neither will Yang. Anyway, we can train you to be a better fighter." Vernal told her. They were perfectly capable of training her and they would happily do it, so in reality there was no reason why they wouldn't let her stay with them. If nothing else, it would be an interesting experiment.

"Are you serious about that?" Weiss asked, still not entirely confident in what Vernal was saying. She didn't want to get her hopes up, in case Yang really wasn't willing to accept her.

Vernal nodded "Deadly serious. Come on I'll introduce you." she said. She gestured for Weiss to follow her, before heading in the direction she had last seen Yang heading. Weiss paused for a moment, before following her to wherever Yang was.

* * *

With Ilia following closely behind her, Blake approached a blonde girl who she believed to be a member of the Branwen Tribe. "Excuse me, are you one of the Branwens?" she asked the girl, who was facing away from her and staring out to sea.

Yang started answering whoever spoke to her, before she turned around. "I am, who's a... Yang Branwen at your service." She trailed off mid sentence, completely entranced by the Cat Faunus she found standing behind her. As soon as her mind switched back on, she did her best to impress the girl. She may have been the leader of the Branwen tribe, but that didn't mean she couldn't be attracted to people.

Blake found her self staring at Yang, she couldn't take her eyes off the girl. "Blake, I'm Blake Belladonna and this is Ilia Amitola. It's a pleasure to meet you Yang." she said, when she eventually snapped out of it. She still stumbled over her words, and almost forgot Ilia was there.

Yang smiled at her, completely enamored "Likewise. Now, what can I do for you?" she asked. She was already willing to do almost anything for Blake, all that was running through her mind was how good she looked.

"We thought you might want some company, and we were hoping to improve relations between the White Fang and the Branwen Tribe." Blake explained. She had to focus on her original reason for approaching Yang, which was extremely difficult for her as she stared into those lilac eyes.

"Thanks I appreciate it and I like the idea of an alliance between us. But first, I want you to meet Ruby, the newest member of the tribe."Yang responded. She also had to focus, as difficult as it was with those amber eyes watching her. She still had to represent her tribe, and she had to introduce the girl she'd almost forgotten about. Ruby was right next to her the entire time, and Blake needed to meet her.

"It's nice to meet you." Ruby said, giving a short wave to Blake and Ilia. She didn't really know what else to say to the two girls, so that was all she said.

"It's nice to meet you too Ruby. It's good to know that the tribe is still going." Blake replied. She was very glad to hear that the tribe was already starting to recover, especially now she'd met Yang. Until that point, she'd never found a human attractive.

"Thanks, it's good to see the White Fang is still going too." Ruby told her. She didn't see any difference between human and faunus, and she admired the White Fang after seeing them fight the Grimm. So she was genuinely glad that they were still around.

"You really mean that?" Ilia asked. She really hadn't expected a human to say something like that, even after her talk with Blake. She had been raised not to trust humans and she'd been wronged by them many times, so it was hard to believe that Ruby was being genuine.

"Don't worry, she means it. Unlike other humans, we don't hate your kind." Yang assured her. Neither her nor any members of the tribe had any problems with the faunus. They saw them as equals, so she wanted to assure Ilia and Blake of that fact.

Blake was pleased to hear it from Yang, and it made her like the girl even more. "See Ilia, I told you they don't care about race." She said, trying to keep her mind on the task at hand and make a point to Ilia. She needed her friend to know that some humans were worth knowing, especially ones like Yang and Ruby.

Ilia nodded, Blake having proved the point to her. "I'm sorry for doubting you, I'm not used to trusting humans." she said, apologizing to both the humans and Blake. She felt the need to explain herself to the humans, hoping they would understand why she initially didn't trust them. She didn't want any hard feelings between them.

"It's fine, we know how badly you get treated by other humans." Yang assured her. She and Ruby had both seen the mistreatment and abuse that the faunus suffered at the hands of humans, and they really didn't like it. So, they could completely understand Ilia's attitude.

"I assume you get the same treatment from your own kind, since you're nomads and used to be bandits." Blake said. Nomads were generally disliked by citizens of the kingdoms, and bandits were widely hated. So she expected Yang to have experienced similar discrimination, to what she had faced herself. The idea only made her even more interested in Yang, which was quite distracting.

Yang nodded "We definitely aren't popular, but we actually deserve it. We chose to be the way we were, you can't help who you are." she explained. In her mind the people who hated the faunus were scum, but the people who hated her could justify their hatred to some extent. Blake was hated for being born a faunus, while she was hated for living as a bandit and nomad. She had a choice, Blake didn't.

"If only more humans were like you. That would make things so much easier, for everyone." Blake responded. Yang was by far the nicest human she had ever met, and they'd only just started talking. There was no doubt in her mind, that Remnant would be a much nicer plays to live if more people thought like Yang. She had been a bandit at one point, but she was now a far better than a lot of people.

Yang agreed with Blake, but understood that the something like that was unlikely to happen. "It would, but we aren't that lucky. Remnant is a terrible place, it has been since before the Grimm and it will be after the Grimm. Which is why we need to stick together." she said. Remnant was no paradise, unless you were an incredibly rich and powerful human living in one of the kingdoms. It was terrible for pretty much everyone, and it would take a miracle to make it the kind of place Blake wanted it to be.

Blake was impressed with Yang. "Well said Yang, you have a better understanding of the world than most." she said. Though it was hard for her to admit, Yang was right about the world. It was a very harsh place, and achieving equality for the faunus race seemed like almost impossible. People were too set in there ways, and human dominance meant there was little desire for that kind of change.

"It's how I was raised to see things. The part about the Grimm is new, but that's how the Branwens have seen the world for their whole existence." Yang explained. The Branwens had always had a bleak world view, which somewhat ironically had helped them to survive. Expecting and preparing for the worst, had allowed them to live on through everything. It was the reason why Raven had ordered Yang and Vernal to retreat, she knew they would die if they stayed.

"Well, It's a lot like our philosophy. Though we try to have a more optimistic view of the future, for our kind at least." Blake responded. The White Fang understood that Remnant was a terrible place, but they always hoped that things would get better for their people. If they didn't then they would cease to exist, and just accept the fact that they would always be considered inferior to humans.

"Alright then Blake, it seems like we have a lot in common. So, as chief of the Branwen Tribe, I'd like to propose an alliance." Yang said. She made the proposal not only because they had a lot in common and knew they needed to work together to survive, but also because she could use it as an excuse to get closer to Blake. She wouldn't say it yet, but she wanted Blake in a way she'd never wanted anyone before.

Blake was a big fan of the idea, but there was one minor issue. "If it was up to me, I'd accept on the spot. But I'm afraid I have to discuss this with my mother first, though I'm sure she will agree." she said. She wanted closer ties with the tribe and she particularly wanted to get closer to Yang, but she needed her mother to agree to the alliance first. She was sure Kali would have no objections, but there was always a chance.

"That's all I needed to hear. Feel free to talk to her about it, then get back to me." Yang responded. Though she was quite disappointed that Blake hadn't said yes, she was happy to hear that she liked the idea and was willing to try and make it happen. It was important for the tribe that they managed to from such an alliance, as it would help the to survive and maybe fight the Grimm. But it was also important for her, as it gave her more of a chance with Blake.

"Alright, I'll do that. I hope we can be friends, even if she she says no for some reason." Blake told her. Whatever happened, she still wanted a friendly relationship with the tribe, and Yang in particular. She didn't think she really had a chance of being with Yang, but she would do what she could in order to at least stay close with her. Even just having her as a friend, would be great.

"Of course we can. As I said, we need to stick together." Yang said. Though she really wanted the alliance and would find it extremely useful, she would settle for friendship if it was impossible. Having met Blake, she really didn't want anything to separate them. If Blake went away, she would never forget her. After only a few minutes, the girl was ingrained in her mind.

Blake smiled, glad that she and Yang were on the same page. "I'm glad to see I was right about you. I'll go and speak with her now, I look forward to seeing you again Yang. You too Ruby." she said, as she headed off to see Kali. She nearly forgot about Ruby, too busy imagining various scenarios where she and Yang ended up together.

"See you later Blake, and you Ilia." Yang said, as she watched them go. She felt bad about it, but she couldn't help watching the sway of Blake's hips as she walked. It was unlikely to succeed as far as she could tell, but she would do whatever she could to be with Blake. She barely knew the girl, but she was undeniably falling for her.

* * *

**I think you can tell where this is going. Anyway, please feel free to follow, favorite and review if you deem this story worthy of it. For those of you who already have, I really appreciate it.**


	4. Unite to Survive

**Well this took a lot longer to write than I expected, but here it is. I hope it's not terrible.**

* * *

After meeting with Yang, Blake was on her way to find her mother. Fortunately it didn't take her long, as the woman had been relatively close by the whole time. "I see you've acquainted yourself with Raven's daughter." Kali said to her daughter, having watched the meeting.

Blake nodded. "Her name's Yang and she has a proposal for us." she explained. She wouldn't forget Yang's name anytime soon and she made sure her mother knew it too.

"Interesting, what is this proposal of hers?" Kali asked. She hadn't been close enough to hear what was said and was somewhat surprised to hear that Yang had made a proposal.

"Well, she is hoping to forge an alliance with us." Blake responded. She hoped her mother would like the idea as much as she did and accept it straight away, mainly because she wanted to see Yang again as soon as possible.

"That's not exactly what I was expecting, did she give a reason for wanting an alliance?" the Branwens had never been ones for forming alliances, even the alliance against the Grimm hadn't been anything official. So it was quite surprising that Yang was looking for one.

"She said we have a lot in common and we need to stick together if we want to survive." Blake explained. Yang had said far more than just that, but it was a good enough summary.

"The part about survival is understandable, but what exactly do we have in common with the Branwens?" Kali asked. She understood part of Yang's reasoning, it made a to work together to survive. But she couldn't see what the White Fang had in common with the Branwen Tribe.

"We have a very similar view of the world, and we are both vilified and mistreated by others." Blake told her. She was really hoping that her mother would be satisfied with her explanation, and would accept the proposal.

"Maybe we do see things in a similar way, but there is no similarity between the oppression of our people and the justifiable hatred directed at a bandit tribe." Kali growled. Her kind were abused and discriminated against for what they looked like, whereas the Branwens were hated for their actions. In her opinion there was no similarity, and it angered her to that Yang seemed to think there was.

Blake was worried by the response, thinking she may have ruined any chance of an alliance. "She didn't claim to have experienced the same discrimination as we have, and she admitted that her tribe deserved what it gets." she clarified, hoping to calm her mother down.

"Well I'm glad to hear that she has some sense, but I don't see much benefit to us allying ourselves with bandits. I know they've changed a lot since the Grimm emerged, but there are so few of them that they can't really do anything to aid us." Kali responded. She was pleased that Yang was claiming to have suffered as much as the Faunus had, but she still had reservations about forming an alliance.

Blake quickly jumped to defend Yang. "They may not be as big or as powerful as they used to be, but please don't underestimate them and their ability to help us. Yang is already rebuilding the tribe and she sees our people as equals." she said. She wouldn't let Kali dismiss Yang and the tribe so quickly.

Blake was almost always cynical and pessimistic, so Kali was surprised by her enthusiasm about the alliance. "It does sound like a better idea when you put it that way, though I must admit I'm surprised at your optimism about it. So tell me, why are you so invested in the idea?" she asked.

"It's simple. Yang is by far the kindest and most intelligent human I've ever met, and I can tell that death is the only thing that will stop her achieving her goals. I know it sounds crazy to say that about a Branwen of all people, but I can tell there is more to Yang than her name and her past." Blake explained. Yang was her favorite human by far, and she needed her mother to know what she was actually like.

Kali wasn't expecting her daughter to speak about any human in that way, let alone a former bandit. "That's not something I ever expected to hear about a Branwen, but I know you don't say things like that unless you really believe it. Clearly Yang has already had a big impact on you." she said. Blake was always brutally honest, so she had no choice but to believe her about Yang.

"Does that mean you're okay with the alliance?" Blake asked hopefully. She could tell she was starting to get through to her mother, but she didn't know if it had swayed to in favour of the alliance.

Kali was more in favor of the alliance than she had been at first, but not to the point where she was ready to accept it. "Well I'm not opposed to it, but I want to be sure of her intentions. Are you certain there's she has no ulterior motives?" she asked.

"Do you honestly think I'd be this trusting of a human if I had any doubts about them?" Blake asked in response. It should have been obvious that she would only trust a human if she was completely certain they were deserving of it.

"I'm not doubting your judgement, but I'll need to convince the others that this is a good idea, and they won't be so trusting." Kali explained. Unless she could convince the Fang that Yang was trustworthy, any alliance would quickly fall apart.

Blake was certain that Yang wasn't concealing any malicious intentions. "If you meet her yourself I'm sure you'll be convinced, and she would probably be willing to talk to the others if that's what it takes to make the alliance happen." she told her mother, certain that Yang would be able to prove her honest intentions herself."

"Alright then. I'm okay with the alliance, providing she can prove her trustworthiness." Kali agreed, putting a lot of faith in her daughter's judgement. If Yang was the way Blake had described her and doing what Blake said she was doing, then an alliance would be acceptable.

It wasn't a definite yes, but it was good enough for Blake. "Thank you, I promise you won't be disappointed." she said. She was certain that Yang could take things from there, so she had no worries about making the promise.

"I hope you're right, I can see this means a lot to you." Kali replied. She wanted things to go well for Blake's sake, and because the idea was starting to grow on her.

"You'll realize why when you meet her. Even Ilia seems to like her, and you know how she feels about humans." Blake told her. Ilia hated humans more than most, blaming them for the deaths of her parents. So her liking Yang really said a lot.

"I look forward to meeting her, so let's not leave her waiting." Kali said. Everything Blake had told her made her want to meet Yang, so she headed straight for the girl with Blake following close behind.

* * *

Vernal approached Yang, bringing Weiss with her. "Yang, I have someone who wants to meet you." she announced, getting the attention of the blonde.

Yang turned to Vernal and was surprised by who was with her. "A Schnee? What can I do for you?" she asked. She did her best to conceal her surprise and got straight down to business.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Chief Branwen, I'm Weiss." Weiss started, having plenty of experience addressing powerful and important people." I won't be returning to Atlas and Vernal suggested joining your tribe." she added. She didn't want to waste Yang's time with a long explanation, so kept it brief.

"No need for the formalities, you can just call me Yang." Yang responded, not wanting to use her title. "Now, why aren't you going back to Atlas?" she then asked, curious as to why a Schnee of all people wouldn't want to return to Atlas.

"I have wanted to get away from that place for a long time, but I couldn't do it while my Father was alive. Now he's gone, I'm finally free to live my own life away from that awful country." Weiss explained, remembering how bad her fellow Atlesians really were.

"An Atlesian who doesn't love their country, I never thought I'd see the day." Yang responded. Weiss was going against everything she knew about Atlas and its people, and she had to comment on it.

"Well it's a terrible place to live no matter who you are, but the people are too arrogant to see it for what it is." Weiss added. She knew her fellow Atlesians well enough to understand Yang's surprise."

Thanks to the explanation, Yang could understand why Weiss didn't want to go home. "Alright it makes sense that you don't want to go back." she said, before asking. "Do you have any plans now you're free from that?" Vernal had suggested that Weiss should join them, but that didn't mean that the Schnee would actually do it.

"Not really. Until I met Vernal, I was just going to stay in Vale and see what happened." Weiss explained. She hadn't made plans beyond moving to Vale, until the prospect of joining the tribe came up.

"So you want to join the tribe instead of doing that?" Yang asked, hoping the answer was yes since she was trying to build up the tribe's strength again.

Weiss nodded and said "Vernal really sold the idea to me. I understand it won't be easy, but yes I want to join." Joining the tribe seemed like an even better idea after meeting Yang.

Yang was pleased at Weiss response, but she wasn't quite ready to accept her. "If you're sure it's what you want and you know what you're getting yourself into, then I only have a couple more questions for you." she said.

"I'm sure, please ask away." Weiss responded. She was certain that it was what she wanted and had no problem answering a few questions if that's what it took to be accepted.

"Alright. Are you willing to fight and kill for the tribe?" Yang asked. If Weiss wasn't willing to do that, then she would be of no use to the tribe.

"I am." Weiss answered without hesitation. She had some combat training and would receive more from the tribe, so she would fight. She wasn't so prepared to kill, but would as long as her victim deserved it.

Things were going well so far, but Yang still had an important question left. "Good to know. Now, what do you think of the Faunus?" she asked. There was no way she would accept anyone if they hated the Faunus.

"I think they're just like us in every way except their appearance, and even then the difference is negligible. They don't deserve to be treated the way they are, they deserve to be treated as our equals." Weiss replied. She was nothing like her father in terms of her opinion of the Faunus.

Yang smiled "Right answer. Welcome to the tribe Weiss." she said, extending a hand to her. Weiss seemed genuine in her responses, so she was happy to have her in the tribe.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Weiss said, as she and Yang shook hands. She was extremely relieved that everything had gone well, and glad that she could now get on with her new life.

"No need to thank me. Vernal seems to think you're tribe material and I see no reason why I shouldn't give you a chance." Yang responded. Weiss had so far proven herself worthy of joining the tribe.

"I won't let you down." Weiss said, hoping that was a promise she could keep. Yang and Vernal were helping her out a lot by giving her the opportunity, and she wanted to repay them for it.

"I'm sure you won't, especially once we've trained you." Yang reassured, before moving on to her next order of business. "Now I want you and Vernal to meet the tribe's other new recruit. This is Ruby Rose." she said, gesturing to the girl who was standing nearby.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both." Ruby greeted awkwardly, as she made her way over to them. She had overheard the conversation so she knew what was going on, but she wasn't sure what to say to Vernal or Weiss.

"Same to you." Vernal responded, as she nodded to Ruby in acknowledgement. She would have been skeptical at having the girl joining them, but she trusted Yang's judgement so didn't.

"It's wonderful to meet you Ruby. It's nice to know I'm not the only new recruit." Weiss said, greeting Ruby in the same way she did with members of the Atlesian elite. Ruby seemed a little to young to be in the tribe, but she didn't mention it.

"Oh, thanks. Welcome to the tribe I guess." Ruby replied. She wasn't really sure how to interact with someone of Weiss' social standing, but she was glad to have her in the tribe.

"Well Yang, it looks like recruitment is going well." Vernal said, flicking her eyes between the two new members. Things were going much better than she had expected, and she was confident that they would eventually succeed in returning the tribe to its former glory.

"It's not just that that's going well, I was talking to a couple of White Fang members and now we might be getting an alliance with them." Yang told her. She was pleased with the way things were going, and she knew Vernal would be too.

"That's great. Now can you see why I wanted you to be chief, beyond you being a Branwen by blood?" Vernal responded. She was proud of Yang and the way she was taking to her new role, and she was sure Raven would have felt the same way.

"Maybe I do, but you're the one who managed to recruit a Schnee." Yang replied. She was had accepted her role and she was doing a good job, but Vernal was still vital to the tribe's success.

"Recruitment is a lot easier than diplomacy, especially for us. Nobody wants to work with us unless they have to, so if you pull this alliance off then there can be no doubt that you're the right person for the job." Vernal reasoned, trying to assure Yang that she was the best person to lead the tribe.

"Relax, I've already accepted that I'm meant to be chief." Yang assured, before changing the subject. "Anyway, I'm really hoping this alliance happens." she said, mainly thinking about seeing Blake again.

Vernal was also hoping the alliance happened. "So am I, I don't think we'll ever get one with anyone else." she responded. An alliance would be great for them, and it was unlikely that they'd get one from anyone else.

"You're probably right about that. Now it looks like we're about to find out if the White Fang will." said Yang, as she spotted Blake approaching with her mother. It probably was their only chance of an alliance, but at least it would be a good one.

* * *

Blake went ahead of her mother, to brief Yang on the situation. "Yang, I spoke to my mother, and she wants to meet you before she agrees to anything." she explained, as she tried to hide her pleasure at seeing the blonde again.

Yang nodded in acknowledgement to Blake, before greeting her mother. "Chief Belladonna, it's an honor to meet you." she said, trying to make a good impression on the woman on which the success of the alliance depended.

"Same to you Chief Branwen, please just call me Kali." Kali said in return. Yang was polite and respectful, so she was willing to drop the formalities and allow the girl to use her first name.

Since Kali seemed willing to drop the formalities, Yang decided to do the same. "Alright Kali, you can just call me Yang." she said. Things were clearly off to a good start, since they were already on a first name basis.

"Thank you Yang. Now, I believe you have a proposal for us." Kali responded, wanting to get down to business so she could determine whether or not an alliance was a good idea. So far, things were looking good.

Yang wasn't sure how much Blake had told Kali, so she started to explain. "I'm hoping to forge an alliance between us, between the Branwen Tribe and the White Fang." she said, ensuring that Kali knew exactly what she wanted.

"May I ask why you're seeking an alliance with us?" Kali asked, wanting to be as sure that Yang wasn't just trying to take advantage of the Fang for her own gain.

"Because Remnant is a terrible place and we need to stick together to survive, especially now the Grimm have taken our homelands and driven us to the verge of destruction." Yang passionately explained, anger filling her as she thought of what the Grimm took from her. She would have her revenge, she just hoped the Fang wowould be there to help out.

Kali could tell from the look in Yang's eyes and the tone of her voice, that she meant what she said. But that didn't mean it was the only reason she wanted an alliance. "An alliance does make sense when you put it that way, but that can't be your only motivation." she said, wanting Yang to reveal everything that made her want an alliance.

"You're right, there is another reason. The White Fang and my tribe are both widely hated. It's for different reasons and in our case it's justifiable for our past actions, but my point still stands. We won't find many friends out there, so it makes sense for us to befriend each other." Yang explained, hoping it would convince Kali to accept the alliance. If she was lucky, then the woman would be as convinced by what she said as Blake had been.

Again Kali could tell that Yang meant what she said, which did make her more inclined to agree to the alliance. But she still wanted to know how reliable Yang the girl would be as an ally. "Another good point, I can see you've put a lot of thought into this. I'm certainly not opposed to that idea of an alliance and Blake is sold on it, but I need to know something before I accept your proposal." she said, making her position clear.

Yang nodded and said "Alright, I'll answer any questions you have." She would do almost anything to secure the alliance, so a few questions wouldn't be a problem. She just had to hope that Kali liked her answers.

"Well, I only really have one question. Are you willing to help us advance the Faunus cause, or are you just doing this to help yourself?" Kali asked. She couldn't accept an alliance if Yang wasn't going to help her people achieve equality, so her answer would make or break the agreement.

"I'm not just doing this for myself. I hate the way other humans treat you, and I will do will do what I can to change it." Yang answered. The Branwen Tribe had always treated the Faunus as equal, and now they would fight to make more people see them that way.

Kali was impressed, Yang was proving to be just as good as Blake had said. "Thank you Yang, that's all I needed to hear. I accept your offer, on the condition that you address my people and prove to them that you are a friend of our kind." she said. She was convinced that Yang was a worthy ally, she just needed the girl to convince the rest of the Fang of that.

Yang was pleased with the outcome of the meeting, even if it did mean she had to address the rest of the White Fang. "That sounds fair to me, you've got yourself a deal." she agreed, sure that she would be able to get the Fang onside like she had with the Belladonnas

With the deal sealed, the two chiefs shook hands. Unfortunately the moment was ruined by a worrying shout from elsewhere on the ship. "Pirates!" Seemingly out of nowhere, a ship with black sails was bearing down on them. Escape was not an option, they would have to fight.

* * *

**I hope this chapter didn't suck, and I'll try to get the next one out soon. Anyway, please feel free to follow, favorite or review if you think this story's worth it. See ya.**


	5. Skirmish at Sea

**Finally time for another chapter of this, and it's the longest one so far. Hopefully it was worth the wait.**

* * *

After the shout alerted them to the imminent arrival of hostile forces. The Tribe and the Belladonnas stared at the approaching ship for a moment, knowing that they would inevitably have to face the pirates when they caught up and boarded. Fortunately, they weren't the usual helpless seafarers that the pirates usually preyed on. Some of them lacked combat experience, but they were all able to fight and they were with battle hardened warriors who would be more than a match for unsuspecting and poorly equipped pirates.

"They picked the wrong ship to attack." Yang said, as she grabbed the hammer that hung from her waist, and rested it on her shoulder. She was more than ready to kill them, she was a Branwen after all. She really hated them and couldn't wait to spill their blood, even if it was hypocritical given her past.

"Damn right they did." Vernal agreed, as she drew her crossbow and loaded it. Just like Yang, she was ready to end the pirates the moment they came within range. They didn't stand a chance if they found themselves in her sights, having to hit the weak spots on the Grimm had made her deadly accurate with her weapon of choice.

They weren't the only ones ready for a fight, the warriors of the White Fang emerged from below deck with their weapons in hand. There weren't many of them, but they still posed a significant threat to the pirates. After facing the Grimm, a bunch of sailors who only targeted the weak were going to be no match for them. Especially when they were backed up by the remnants of three armies and the Branwens.

Kali saw that her people were ready for battle and considered making her way over to them with Blake, but she quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to reach them before the pirates arrived. So she decided that staying with Yang and the others was a better option, they would be as safe as they would be with their own people and she would be able to see her new allies in action.

The only weapon Kali had to hand was a tanto she always carried for her own protection, so she took it out in case anyone got too close or tried to attack her. She was no warrior like her husband had been, but she still knew how to fight. She knew how to kill, and she was willing and able to do it with her small blade. Though she wouldn't commit herself to the fight unless she absolutely had to, so there was less risk of the Fang losing another leader.

Blake took the hint from her mother's actions, and drew her own tanto. The two of them had left their other weapons below deck, so they had to rely on what they already had with them. Fortunately, she was as adept with the weapon as her mother and was fully prepared to use it if she came face to face with any member of the raiding party that was about to arrive.

Seeing that the Belladonnas were staying close and preparing for a fight, Yang turned her attention to her new recruits. "Ruby, Weiss, do you have anything to fight with?" she asked them. She really hoped they did, as they would need them to protect themselves and to assist in the fight against the soon to arrive pirates.

Weiss hadn't expected anything bad to happen, so had left her rapier below deck with Winter. But luckily she wasn't completely unarmed. "I have this." she said, as she drew her weapon. She was carrying a stiletto, which was effectively a smaller version of her sword. Ideally she would have had her main weapon or time to collect it at least, but she would just have to make do with what she had. As long as she had something she could fight with and people to fight alongside, them she assumed that she would be fine.

Ruby also had a knife to fight with. "And I've got this." she said. It was kukri given to her by her parents for situations like the one they were currently in, and she had been given some training on how to fight with it. So she drew it, ready to use it in a real fight for the first time. She didn't know what to expect from the pirates, but she was confident that they wouldn't be too hard to handle, especially with all the experienced warriors that would be assisting in the fight.

Yang was glad to see that they did have weapons with them, it meant they were ready to fight and wouldn't have to borrow from her or Vernal. "That's what I like to see." she told them. She would have liked it even more if they didn't just have knives, but it was better than not having anything. It would have been more of an issue if they would be standing alone against their attackers, but definitely wouldn't be so it was highly unlikely that there would be a problem.

"What's the plan, Yang?" asked Vernal, who was ready to follow any orders given by her chief. She was hoping for something along the lines of killing the pirates and looting their corpses and their ship, and she was fairly certain that Yang would decided to do exactly that.

"We do what we do best. Kill them and take what we want." Yang answered. They weren't bandits anymore, but they still had all of their skills. So they would use those skills to give the pirates a taste of their own medicine, which they would of course take great pleasure in doing.

"Sounds good to me." Vernal told her. It had been too long since she last fought something other than Grimm, and couldn't wait to take on the pirates. She was much better suited to killing people than she was to killing Grimm, even thought she had become quite an efficient slayer of the creatures.

* * *

At that point, the inevitable finally happened. The pursuing ship caught up to them. It came right alongside their ship, close enough for a boarding party to make their way between the two vessels. Grappling hooks were thrown across to hold the two ships close together, making it easier and safer to cross from one to the other and making it harder for the target ship to flee.

Moments later, the members of the boarding party started jumping and climbing aboard. They were all armed with swords, with the intention of using them to terrify and cut down what they expected to be unarmed refugees. Every able bodied fighter moved in on them immediately, they weren't planning on showing mercy to the unwelcome new arrivals. The pirates quickly realized their mistake, but it was too late for them to abort their raid. What they thought would be an easy raid, was now a fight for their lives.

Yang ran in with her hammer raised, ready to crush any unfortunate pirate she encountered. The first man she reached didn't last long, as a thunderous blow caught him on his unprotected head. It punched a large hole straight through his skull, and turning his brain into a liquid. She yanked her weapon back out of his head, and he collapsed to the ground completely lifeless.

Vernal didn't take long to get her first kill either, being just as eager as Yang. She fired her first bolt with lethal accuracy, in the blink of an eye it covered the distance between her and her victim. It ripped into and tore out her targets throat. His blood sprayed out covering everything and everyone in the vicinity, rendering him dead before he hit the ground.

Weiss and Ruby stuck close to Vernal and Yang, so they could assist with the fight while remaining relatively safe. They were armed and trained to use the weapons they were wielding, but bring knives to a sword fight meant they would be at a severe disadvantage if they were fighting alone.

Blake and Kali could have kept their distance from the battle, only using their tantos if anyone made it past the defenders and attacked them. But with a nod, they silently agreed that they wanted to help fight the pirates. Though they were smart about it and stayed close to Yang and Vernal, whose weapons were more useful in the situation and whose combat abilities were clearly superior to their own.

Meanwhile, Adam and Sienna were leading the White Fang in their attack on the pirates, charging them the moment they arrived. They viciously tore through the first opponents they encountered, putting a significant dent in their numbers and driving the rest back towards the ship they came from.

Along with the tribe and the Fang, a third group of warriors attacked the pirates. The Mistrali, Valese and Atlesian troops who'd survived Argus. They were veterans who war used to fighting endless hordes of Grimm, so their current opponents were completely outmatched. Winter had taken command of them, leading them from front of with her saber in hand. She and the rest of them carved up their enemies as they pressed their attack.

The three groups of fighters merged together, forming a wall of iron around the hostile forces. They trapped them at the side of the ship, and went in for the kill. After everything they'd been through and everything they'd lost, they weren't going to let the detestable pirates off lightly. They wanted the pirates gone, so they could continue with their voyage and so the seas would be safer for everyone.

One of the few remaining pirates tried to slash at Yang, when really he would have been better off trying to retreat back to his own ship. Yang easily blocked the strike with her hammer, almost laughing at the terrible attempt to best her. Weiss saw this as an opportunity to strike, darting in and plunging her stiletto deep into his stomach. The wound stopped the unfortunate man from fighting back against Yang, who shoved him backwards before caving in his chest in with a lightning fast blow from her hammer.

Yang was quite impressed by what she saw, giving Weiss an approving smile before going after her next target. The poor man didn't see her coming at him until it was too late to do anything about it. Her hammer slammed into his forehead with a terrifying amount of force behind it, the impact was enough to demolish his skull and snap his neck as his mashed up head jerked back violently.

Nearby, another pirate went down, thanks to Vernal. One of her crossbow bolts caught him in the eye, punching through the back of his eye socket and burying its tip in his brain. Then, after a rapid reload, another pirate was brought down with a bolt to the head. This time it went in through one temple and partially emerged through the other.

Kali and Blake didn't get a chance to strike out at any pirates, the speed with which the attack took place meant that they didn't even get close. So as they found themselves standing back from the rapidly advancing line, observing as Yang and Vernal easily felled every pirate they went after. The tribe was far the smaller than the other two groups that were driving the pirates back, but they were doing just as much damage as the others. Needless to say, the Belladonnas were both impressed by their prowess and disturbed by their brutality.

The outnumber raiding party was quickly slaughtered by the combined might of the fighters on the ship. Which prompted many of the ships defenders to stand down, but they weren't all done. They had dealt with the pirates on their ship, but there were still some of them alive on the other Ship. In a move that completely turned the tables on the pirates, a number of fighters boarded the hostile ship to finish the job properly.

* * *

"Time to take the fight to them." Yang said to Vernal and the other two, as she followed suit. Waving for them to follow her, before crossing over to the other ship with her hammer ready to bring more lives to an end. She wasn't satisfied with just taking out the raiding party and looting their corpses, she wanted the pirates to be completely wiped out and she wanted to loot everything she could from their ship.

Vernal was only a few steps behind her, following her leader without hesitation into whatever awaited them aboard the other vessel. They were out to do what Branwens did best, kill and steal. So with the two of them now on their ship along with various other fighters, the surviving pirates really didn't have long left to live.

Ruby, who was yet to actually use her weapon, didn't follow so quickly. She wanted to help taking the fight to the pirates and knew she had to follow Yang's orders now that she was part of the tribe. But boarding the other ship with just a kukri that she hadn't used in a real fight before, probably wasn't a good idea. So before joining Yang and Vernal, she picked up the dropped sword of one of the deceased pirates. She was sure she would be able to fight with it and make an actual contribution to the attack.

"Wise choice." Weiss said to Ruby, before picking up a sword herself. She had her own sword below deck, but there was no time to collect it. So the poor quality blade the pirate had wielded, would have to suffice. She sheathed her stiletto before making her way over to the other ship, with Ruby by her side. Keeping up with the other two in terms of kill count would be pretty much impossible for them, but they would do the best they could in order to prove themselves.

* * *

Blake and Kali watched as the four members of the tribe, as well Adam, Sienna and several other White Fang members, made their way over to the enemy ship. They knew that there was going to be a massacre of the remaining pirates, but honestly they had no problems with that. The pirates had attacked thinking they were defenseless refugees, so they had absolutely no sympathy for them. In fact, Blake would have joined in if she had more than just her tanto. But if she went to collect her weapon of choice from below deck, the others would probably already have finished off the last of the pirates.

But it turned out that she wouldn't have to collect her weapon, when Ilia emerged from below deck and came sprinting over. She was carrying a weapon in each hand, one was Kali's rarely used katana and the other was the kusarigama which Blake had taken years mastering the use of. Ilia was visibly distressed as she approached, her skin making it impossible to hide. She dropped to her knees when she reached them, holding their weapons out to them. "I'm sorry I took so long, Adam ordered me to bring you these but I wasn't quick enough." she said, basically begging for forgiveness for what she felt was a serious failure.

Blake cared a great deal for the girl and she knew that Ilia cared just as much about her, so she really didn't like seeing her in such a state over something so minor. "Relax Ilia, it's okay. We're both fine and we weren't unarmed, so don't worry about it." she said, trying to comfort her. They had their tantos for protection, and the Branwens to deal with the pirates. So really they hadn't needed the weapons, it would have been nice to have them just in case, but ultimately it didn't matter. Ilia hadn't done anything wrong, it was their own faults for leaving their weapons packed away below deck where they were hard to get to in an emergency.

"But it could have been so much worse, you could have been killed and it would've been my fault." Ilia responded, still racked with guilt. She cared about Blake more than she would ever understand and saw Kali almost like a mother figure after losing her own, so the thought of her own failure costing them their lives was too much for her.

"Ilia, stop it. You have nothing to blame yourself for, you did the best you could." Kali told her, trying to get her to see sense. Ilia was Blake's best friend, and had proven herself to be incredibly useful over the years. So she wouldn't let her beat herself up over something that wasn't her fault, she would have done the same even if negative emotions didn't attract Grimm.

"Listen to her Ilia, she's right. Anyway, you actually brought them at exactly the right time." Blake said, as she armed herself with her kusarigama. Ilia had turned up with the weapons, right when she decided that she wanted to help with taking the fight to the pirates.

Ilia looked the younger Belladonna in the eyes "You really mean that?" she asked, starting to feel slightly better about what happened. It was a great relief to know that neither of them were angry with her for being to slow, though she did feel quite idiotic for thinking they would be mad at her. The Belladonnas, even Ghira, had never been that way with her.

"Of course. Now, I'm going to help out over there, you can come with me if you want." Blake responded. She wanted Ilia to feel better, and ideally she wanted her by her side. Ilia was an inexperienced but well trained fighter just like herself, wielding a pair of wakizashis. They had practiced and trained together a lot, so could operate together in a similar way to how Yang and Vernal did.

Neither Kali nor Ilia had expected what Blake said, it seemed out of character for her to want to throw herself into something like that. "You're going over there?" the two of them asked, almost simultaneously. She was smart, smart enough to avoid risking her own life in a fight that was already pretty much won. So her clear enthusiasm for doing it, made little sense to the two women who probably knew her better than anyone else.

"Yes, I want to help Yang. I mean, I want to help them finish off the pirates." Blake answered. Internally she kicked herself for saying Yang, she was intrigued by the blonde but she wasn't the reason why she wanted to fight. At least she hadn't been at first.

"Alright, but be careful. We aren't going to lose this, but going over their is dangerous." Kali told her, giving her permission to go. She considered saying no, but she was sure that the Branwens and the Fang would keep her from coming to any harm. Plus it was likely that Blake would have gone anyway, even without her blessing.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Blake said, before running off in the direction of the other ship. She hadn't spent years learning kusarigamajutsu for nothing, she was ready for a real fight. It wasn't like she was going to be fighting alone anyway, she already had allies on the enemy ship who could come to her aid if she did find herself in a dangerous situation.

As Blake took off, Ilia turned to Kali. "I'll keep her safe, I promise." she said, before reaching up and removing her twin swords from the scabbards she had strapped to her back. Then she darted off in the same direction as Blake, fully prepared to kill if it meant keeping her friend safer. As long as she lived, she would not allow Blake to come to any harm, especially not at the hands of pirates.

* * *

The pirate ship was in absolute chaos, as the unprepared crew were set upon by attackers who were in no mood to be merciful. Some of them tried to run, some tried to hide and the futilely brave ones tried to fight. But whatever they tried to do, they were soon sent to meet their maker by their counterattacking former targets.

Adam, Sienna and the rest of the Fang released all their built up fury on the pirates. Hacking and slashing their way through anybody they encountered, there was no chance of survival for any pirates unlucky enough to find themselves in close proximity to the raging Faunus warriors.

But encountering them was a much more pleasant fate, to coming face to face with Yang or Vernal. They were capable of a level of brutality, that few could aspire to. The Fang members were warriors, but the Branwens were natural born killers.

The moment she boarded the ship, Yang's eyes locked on her first victim. The man saw her immediately, but froze in place out of fear rather than making a move to attack or escape her. It was a well known skill possessed by the Branwen family, the ability to freeze people in terror just by starting at them.

Yang took full advantage of his terrified state, rapidly covering the distance with her hammer held to the side. She swung the weapon sideways, so its head reached him slightly before she did. It collided with his chest from the side, turning his rib cage to powder and lacerating his heart and lungs with remnants of bone. Blood shot from his mouth and nose, before he dropped like a rock.

Yang already had her first kill when Vernal arrived, motivating her to hurry up and get to work on the pirates. So she lined up her shot, locking her sights on the lower back of a pirate who was trying to flee from the slashing blades of the White Fang. She let the bolt fly, and it tore its way across the deck towards her unsuspecting target. It hit its mark perfectly, slipping between the vertebrae and severing the man's spine. He collapsed forward, unable to walk. Which enabled the Fang to catch up with him, and run him through repeatedly.

Yang glanced over to Vernal, in time to see her make her first shot. Before quickly going back to what she did best. One the stupidly brave pirates charged her, which played directly into her hands. She knocked his sword out of his hand using her hammer, then grabbed him by the throat with her free hand. "Never charge a Branwen." she growled, before sweeping his legs out and slamming him into the ground. He was stunned and the wind was knocked out of him, leaving him unable to react as the hammer came down on his head.

As brains splattered over Yang, Vernal dropped one of the horrified onlookers. Her bolt hit him just under the sternum, ripping up his internal organs. He stumbled around for a moment before collapsing, as the last traces of life left him like the blood pouring out of his severed arteries.

Weiss and Ruby arrived on the ship at that point, with their looted weapons. Has they not seen first hand what Grimm could do to people, they would have been disturbed by what was going on. The deck was strewn with corpses and the byproducts of violent killings. But they ignored all that as best they could, and made their way over to Yang.

"I hope you girls are ready for this, you're about to take your first lives." Yang told them, once they reached her. She looked ahead and saw two pirates trying to hide, conveniently they were very close but seemingly oblivious to their presence. "Those two, I want you to go over there and kill them." she then said, as she pointed them out to the tribe's two newest members.

The two girls hesitated for a moment, as they considered the situation. "Relax, I'll be right behind you in case you need me." Yang assured them. She wasn't just going to send them in alone. That was all Ruby and Weiss needed to hear, so they nodded to Yang before starting to approach the pirates.

The hiding pirates noticed them before they reached them, and decided to fight rather than running. Clearly they weren't overly intimidated by the two girls. That was a big mistake, as the two of them were far from harmless.

One of them took a swing at Ruby, but she caught the blow with her sword. She had a deceptive amount of upper body strength, so she was able to push back. He backed up, hoping to slash at her again. But Ruby was too fast for him, she had lightning fast reflexes inherited from her mother. She plunged her sword straight through his chest, piercing his heart before he could take another swing.

Meanwhile, the other pirate was trying to stab at Weiss. Which gave her very little trouble, as she easily danced out of the way of his blade. To him it must have seemed like he had her on the back foot, expecting at any moment, for her to mess up and allow him to run her through. What he didn't realize, was that he was fighting a trained fencer at her own game. She allowed him to make one final thrust of his blade, leveling her weapon at him as he did. He didn't have a chance to dodge, as his own momentum carried him forward onto her blade. She impaled him through the throat.

"Impressive, you made that look easy." Yang commented, having just watched the expertly eliminate their opponents like professional Killers. It was a good start to their new lives, much better than she had expected. "Now, let's show the rest of them why you don't cross the Branwen Tribe or its allies." she then ordered, leading them in the direction of the few surviving pirates.

Ruby and Weiss followed without question. They were both surprised with themselves, and how easily they had been able to best their opponents. They had just killed two people, and it seemed like the easiest thing in the world. They weren't exactly hardened killers, but now they were sure that they could be eventually.

At that moment, Blake arrived on the ship. With Ilia joining her very soon after. They paused for a moment to take in the scene. There were very few pirates left alive, most of them having been slaughtered within minutes of the Fang and the Branwens boarding the ship. "Holy shit!" Ilia couldn't help exclaiming, she could hardly believe how quickly it had all come about.

"I'll have to agree with you on that Ilia." Blake responded, as she looked at all the bodies. It was clear to see who was responsible for each death, and a shocking amount of them had been killed by Yang and Vernal. They had killed a lot of people, in an incredibly short space of time.

"Well, I guess they deserved it." Ilia then said, not feeling any sympathy for the dead. They were all terrible people, who finally got what was coming to them. She was glad they were dead, it made the world a slightly better place to live in.

"They absolutely did. Now let's join the others and finish this." Blake told her, before heading over to where the last fight was taking place, outside what was most likely the Captain's quarters. She wanted to contribute to the fight, tired of just sitting and waiting around for other people to fight and die.

Ilia wasn't going to let her run into the fight on her own, sprinting after her yet again. She was able to catch up, so the two of them reached the pirates at the same time. She had her swords at the ready, prepared to butcher the pirate scum and defend Blake. Blake also had her weapon ready, swinging its the iron weight above her head.

A couple of pirates made a break for it, trying to escape before they could be trapped outside the Captain's quarters. But they ended up running in the direction of Blake and Ilia, who weren't going to let them pass. The two men were so concerned with escaping, that they didn't fully register the presence of the two girls, until it was too late to alter their course.

Blake released the chain of her weapon, the momentum sending it flying at one of the pirates. It wrapped itself around his body and arms, making him unable to use his weapon. Then he fought against the chain, but couldn't free himself in time. Blake stuck quickly and brutally, to claim her first life. She slammed the blade of the kama into his throat, driving it down into his chest before retrieving it.

As Blake did that, Ilia took on the other pirate. He brought his sword up, trying to catch her with a sloppy panicked attack. Maybe it would have worked if she didn't have two swords and plenty of training on how to use them, but that wasn't the case. She parried his attack with one of her blades, before striking back at him with the other. In one fluid movement, she disemboweled him. He went to his knees, and she finished him with a quick slash to the throat.

"I didn't think it would be that easy." Ilia commented, as she wiped her swords on her victims clothing. They were both trained to do it, but killing turned out to be surprisingly easy.

"Neither did I, it seems our training is really paying off." Blake told her, as she looked at the two corpses lying at their feet. Realistically it would have been more unbelievable if they struggled to kill, after everything they had done to prepare themselves for such situations.

With that, the two of them headed over to where the other fighters had no congregated. After the massacre that had taken place, there was only one pirate left alive. The Captain had barricaded himself in his quarters, too much of a coward to face his soon to be killers. He wasn't going to come out, so they were going to have to go in and get him.

Yang was stood at the door, repeatedly slamming her hammer against it. Each blow did serious damaged, as she worked on it like a miner with a pickaxe. She was smashing her way through it and the furniture that had been placed behind it. While she was doing that, White Fang members were trying to break through the wooden walls.

Ruby, Weiss and Vernal were stood a safe distance back from Yang, but close enough to jump into action the moment the room was breached. Vernal had her crossbow loaded, while Ruby and Weiss still had their swords in hand. So Blake and Ilia joined them, prepared to kill the Captain if they got the chance. All of the girls now had pirate blood on their hands, so any and all of them were fully capable of striking the killing blow.

Soon enough Yang had smashed completely through the door and everything else that was in her way, and the Fang had ripped the walls to pieces. They found the Captain cowering in the corner, hiding behind a large battleaxe that he didn't seem capable of using properly. Seeing their prey in a helpless state, they moved in.

Yang was first in, followed by Vernal, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Ilia, Adam and Sienna. "Time to die you fuck." Yang growled at him. Her eyes burning into his soul, assuring him that there was no way he would be getting out of the situation alive.

Realizing that he had absolutely no chance of escape or survival, he steeled himself and decided to go down fighting. "Then I'm taking you with me!" he yelled as a rallying cry to himself, before changing straight at her with his axe raised.

Several things happened at once, when he tried to attack. Yang prepared to block the strike with her hammer, every sword wielder started to advance, the chain of Blake's weapon was flung across the room, and a bolt flew free from Vernal's crossbow.

In less the blink of an eye, the chain and the bolt reached him. The chain coiled itself tightly around the axe, and the bolt bored a hole straight threw his forehead and into his brain. The weapon was yanked from his hand, as he dropped lifelessly to the floor at Yang's feet.

"I don't think so, bitch." said a victorious Yang, as she put a foot on his back triumphantly. The pirates were all now dead, and their ship free for looting. Soon they would be able to resume their voyage to Vale, much better off than they had been to begin with.

* * *

**Well, I hope you liked that. I'll do my best to start updating the regularly, I should be able to as long as life doesn't get in the way again. Anyway, please feel free to follow, favorite and review if you deem this worthy of your time.**

**See you next time.**


	6. Friends and Allies

**It's been far too long, but I'm back with another chapter of this. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

After the massacre of the pirates, the bodies and viscera were gathered up and thrown overboard and the two ships were tied together with ropes and chains. It would have been a real waste to just abandon the pirate ship and all its loot in the middle of the ocean, and the additional space it offered was hard to pass up for everyone packed on to the other ship.

With the voyage to Vale back in full swing, most of those aboard the ships went back to what they had been doing before the rude interruption from the pirates. Meanwhile the four members of the Branwen Tribe along with Blake and Ilia who had now occupied the ruins of the captain's quarters, decided to get to know each other better now that they had fought together.

"I don't know about you guys, but that was the most fun I've had in a long time." Yang said, having enjoyed the thrill of a fight against an opponent that wasn't trying to eat her.

"You found that fun?" Ilia asked, not quite believing that anyone would consider a clash like that to be fun. It really shouldn't have been a surprise given who Yang was, but the fact she seemed to enjoy it so much was still hard to believe.

Yang nodded "I love fighting, and it's been way too long since I last got to fight something that wasn't a Grimm." Yang explained. Fighting was what her people did for fun, and it was much more fun when it wasn't against a demonic monster with a taste for human flesh and very few weaknesses.

"I guess we just fight for different reasons." Ilia responded. The White Fang fought for the rights and freedom of their people, and for survival. It was never for fun, which was one of the major differences between them and the Branwen Tribe. It was one of the few reservations she had about the alliance, though she didn't want to bring it up.

"Maybe we do, but it doesn't matter as long as we're on the same side." Vernal commented. They would need to put aside differences like that in order for the alliance between the Tribe and the Fang to work out. "And it's not like we only fight because we enjoy it, we fight for many reasons and just happen to enjoy doing it." she added, defending the Tribe and making it clear that they weren't the bloodthirsty warmongering barbarians that many people saw them as.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just mean that we don't enjoy fighting, we would prefer not to have to do it." Ilia explained, worrying that she may have offended the Tribe with what she said. It was the last thing she wanted, as so far they had been perfectly civil and friendly to her, Blake and every other Faunus. They were friends of the White Fang, even if they did have their faults.

"I'm glad, enough of our people have fought and died together for our differences to be a problem now." Vernal responded. The Tribe and the Fang had faced the Grimm together without having any real issues with each other's beliefs, and she didn't want that to change especially now that they were on the verge of an official alliance.

"She's right Ilia. We can't allow our differences to divide us, if we do we'll lose everything." Blake added, feeling just as strongly about the matter as Vernal did. To survive in a world as cruel and dangerous as Remnant, they needed to be united against the existential threats they had to face. She didn't care if the Branwens enjoyed fighting, as long as they were on the same side.

"I know, I'm sorry I brought it up." Ilia apologized, understanding that Blake was right and really not wanting to cause any issued between the Fang and the Tribe. She may not have found fighting to be fun, but that didn't mean she had to take issue with the attitude of their friends and allies. She didn't want to alienate the only humans she actually found likable, especially given the state the world was in.

"No need to apologize Ilia, we're all friends here." Yang told her, wishing to put the clearly worried Faunus at ease. They were all friends in her view now anyway, so there were no hard feelings. She had no problem with what Ilia had said especially given that she wasn't exactly wrong about them fighting for different reasons, and she hadn't said anything bad about the Tribe.

"I never thought I'd hear a human call me their friend." Ilia responded. She was again reminded of why she needed to accept the differences between the Fang and the Tribe. The kingdoms were only working with the Fang because it was convenient to have them on side, but the Tribe actually cared about the Fang and had a surprising amount in common.

"Well I'm saying it now, the Branwen Tribe and the White Fang are friends whether we have an alliance or not." Yang replied, looking right at Blake as she spoke. "Isn't that right Blake?" she then asked, to confirm what they had already agreed in their previous conversation. The two groups which had been forced together by the Grimm, but there was more their relationship now thanks to recent developments.

Blake couldn't help smiling at what Yang said, something she did very rarely after all the tragedy she'd experienced. "That's right." she responded, glad that she was able to say it. Her decision to approach Yang earlier, was proving to be a very good one. Things were going so well between their two groups, that she was already struggling to see how Yang and Vernal had ever been the remorseless bandits that their reputations made them out to be.

"See." Yang said to Ilia, before flashing a smile at Blake. "Now, I just want to say you all handled that fight really well. Not many people could cut through those pirates like you did." she then added. Considering how inexperienced Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Ilia were when compared to her and Vernal, they had done impressively well against the pirates. While there were much tougher opponents to face the pirates hadn't exactly been pushovers, and the other had put them down easily.

"You really think so?" Weiss asked, somewhat surprised that Yang thought so highly of what she had done. After all, Winter had been the only person to compliment her for her fighting ability, and that was only when she did well during her training. She had to admit that she had impressed herself with how quickly and easily she'd dispatched her opponent, but Yang having said how impressive was on two occasions was still hard to believe.

"I'm serious. The four of you cut through those pirates like they were nothing, I doubt most of the kingdoms' fighters could have done what you did." Yang explained. It was true. Although the kingdoms trained their troops quite well, Weiss, Ruby, Blake and Ilia clearly had superior training and natural gifts for combat. Even the limited training Ruby said she had been given, must have been far superior to the training the kingdoms gave to their regular infantry units.

"Thank you, that means a lot." Weiss responded. It meant a lot because it made her certain that she belonged with the Tribe, and because she wasn't used to receiving genuine praise. She had only known Yang for a very short amount of time, yet the Chief was already nicer and kinder to her than her father had ever been.

Ruby was just as grateful to Yang as Weiss was, if not more so. But Weiss beat her too it, so she decided to thank Yang later on. Not only had the Chief give her the opportunity of a lifetime, but she had also proven to her that the training her parents had given her had equipped her better than she had thought, making her more grateful to them as well.

"You don't need to thank me. I don't say these things unless I mean them." Yang told her. For all it's faults, the Branwen Tribe was not known for lying. They were always brutally honest, and she was no exception. As much as she liked Weiss, Ruby and the others, she would not tell them they were such good fighters unless they really were. "Now, why don't we take this opportunity to get to know each other a little better?" she then asked.

"That sounds good to me." Blake responded, maybe a little too enthusiastically. She liked the idea of getting to know the others better, but she was particularly enamored by the idea of getting to know Yang better. She just couldn't get the Chief out of her mind, everything about her was captivating. Blake had to know more about her, otherwise she would always be wondering.

With the others nodding in agreement with her and Blake, Yang kicked things off. "Alright then. It's probably pretty obvious, but where's everyone from?" she asked. She already knew Blake and Ilia were from Menagerie, and Weiss was from Atlas, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Plus she knew very little about Ruby, other than the fact she was orphaned by the Grimm. She looked to her second in command to answer first.

"I guess I'll start then." Vernal commented, seeing that Yang wanted her to. "Unsurprisingly I was born outside of the kingdoms, somewhere in Eastern Anima. So I guess you could say that's where I'm from, because I've been on the move ever since." she then went on to explain. It was incredibly difficult for a nomad to say where they were from, as they typically didn't stay anywhere long enough to call it home. So Anima was the only real answer Vernal was able to give.

Next came Weiss, whose answer was already pretty clear. "I suppose you all know this already. But I'm from Atlas, the City of Atlas not just the Kingdom." she explained. Though her family owned a lot of land in Atlas, they lived in the kingdom's capital. It was mainly because their land had mostly been torn apart and turned into mines by her father.

Then it was Ilia's turn. She sighed heavily before answering, as it wasn't easy for her to talk about such things. "I spent most of my life in Menagerie, but I was actually born in Mistral and I live there with my parents for the first few years of my life." The reason for the move from Mistral to Menagerie was the death of her parents, hence why it was hard for her to talk about.

Next came Blake, whose answer was as obvious as Weiss' given who she was. "As you can probably guess, I was born and raised in Menagerie and I lived there until it fell to the Grimm." she said, feeling a great sense of loss as she thought about her lost home and all the people she'd lost along with it.

After Blake came Ruby, whose origins were the least known out of the group. "I'm from Patch, it's an island off the coast of Vale. It's not as interesting as where you guys are from, but it's home. Or at least it was before my parents died." she told everyone. There was a house she could go back to, but it wouldn't be a home without her parents and she wouldn't be able to sustain herself.

"Don't worry Ruby, your home is with us now." Yang reassured, not wanting Ruby to be upset. She wanted her to feel like her home was wherever the tribe was, which was how she and Vernal saw things.

"Thanks, I'm so glad I agreed to join you." Ruby responded, feeling much better thanks to what Yang said. She would have been in a much worse place, had she not met Yang and agreed to join the tribe.

"Well I'm glad you agreed to, but you really don't need to thank me Ruby." Yang responded, having grown quite fond of the girl and having been impressed by what she'd seen of her in combat. "Now, since everyone else has answered the question, I guess it's my turn. Like Vernal, I was born somewhere in Eastern Anima and I've been moving with the Tribe since then." she then added, so everyone now knew where everyone else was from.

Unfortunately their conversation was cut short at that point, by the arrival of Kali with Adam and Sienna by her side. Fortunately however, it was a welcome interruption. Kali asked "Yang, may we speak to you for a moment?" her tone and friendly expression making it clear that it wasn't something bad.

"Of course." Yang responded, more than happy to talk to Kali again. "I'll be right back." she then said to the others, as she made her way over to the three White Fang members who were waiting for her. She was enjoying getting to know more about the others, but whatever Kali wanted to talk to her about was probably more important.

* * *

Once Yang reached them, Kali and the other two led her away from the others. The four of them came to a stop once they were out of earshot, human earshot at least. "Thank you for meeting with me again Yang. Please allow me to introduce Adam and Sienna, my lieutenants." Kali said, wanting Yang to meet the two most important people in the White Fang after herself and Blake.

"It's nice to meet you." Yang responded, as she looked between the two. If they were anything like the Belladonnas, then she was glad to make their acquaintance. She'd already fought alongside them, but they'd never actually spoken or been formally introduced. They were great fighters from what she had seen, so her opinion of them was already quite high and she respected them.

"Same to you Chief Branwen." Sienna replied respectfully, although she was clearly not used to being so civil with humans. "Yes, it's good to meet you Chief Branwen." Adam added, doing his best to sound sincere. He was most likely only being so polite because of Kali, but that was quite understandable given the state of human-faunus relations.

"Please, just call me Yang." Yang told them, not wanting them to feel obliged to speak to address her by her title and not being a fan of formality herself. "Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" she then asked, looking to Kali. She was hoping it was about the alliance, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Well. We've discussed it and we've come to agree to an alliance with you, as long as you are willing to agree to our terms." Kali explained, her expression hardening as she got down to business. It wasn't just a friendly conversation, they had important matters to discuss.

"Great." was Yang's first response, as she was just glad that an alliance was now a possibility. "What are your terms?" she then asked, willing to do a lot in order to make the alliance happen. She really hoped that they wouldn't demand anything extreme of her, as it would show that they didn't really trust her or didn't really want an alliance, or it could be even worse and possibly jeopardize the agreement altogether.

"We have three. First, for the remainder of the of this voyage, we want you to help train our people to fight." Kali started. The White Fang had lost most of its warriors to the Grimm, so they needed to train the surviving members of the Fang to fight in their place. They couldn't just rely on the few surviving warriors they had, even if they were some of the best. If they could get Yang to train them all to fight, they would be in much better shape as a fighting force.

"Consider it done." Yang told her. She was ready and willing to train the White Fang if that's what they wanted. In fact, she would have been willing to do it for them even if she wasn't one of their conditions, all they had to do was ask. She could train her new recruits alongside the Fang, so it was beneficial for everyone.

"Alright, I'm glad you're with us so far." Kali responded, pleased that Yang was so willing to accept the first condition. "Now, we also need you to swear to stand up for and defend any innocent Faunus you find being oppressed, abused or victimized." she then said, giving their second condition. Out of the three conditions they had, it was the most important in her opinion.

"I swear." Yang immediately replied, agreeing to the term without the slightest hesitation. She hated the way the Faunus were treated by her fellow humans, and she would happily slaughter any Faunus Haters or Human Supremacists she encountered. The Tribe would stand up and fight for the rights of the Faunus people, just like the Fang did. Swearing to do it wasn't a problem at all, she had already planned to do it anyway regardless of whether she was asked to or not.

"Thank you Yang, you are truly a friend of our people." Kali thanked her sincerely. It was clear that Yang meant what she said, Blake had been right about her. Whatever bad things Yang had done in the past, were now insignificant as far as Kali was now concerned. She cared for the Faunus people, more so than just about every human Kali had ever met. Unfortunately that wasn't quite enough to secure the alliance, Adam and Sienna had insisted on the third and final condition "Now, the final condition." she then said, hoping it wouldn't cause any problems after it had all gone so smoothly.

"Alright, let's hear it." Yang responded, hoping that they weren't about to make some ridiculous demand that she couldn't possibly agree to it. She could see that Kali was slightly worried about what she was about to say, which didn't exactly fill her with confidence.

"We want you to keep two members of the Fang with you wherever you go, to make sure you don't renege on your promises or go rogue. I hope you understand that this doesn't mean that I don't trust you, it's just to make this alliance more acceptable for some of our less trusting members." Kali explained, trying hard to hide her concern. She trusted Yang enough to take her on her word, and she wished Adam and Sienna hadn't been so insistent on it.

Though she wasn't crazy about the idea, Yang could understand why not everyone was willing to trust her as Kali and Blake had been. But she had a request to make in return, if she was going to agree to being constantly monitored by the White Fang. "Do I get to choose who I take with me?" she asked, having a good idea of who she wanted. She wasn't overly confident that they would be willing to go along with it, but she had to at least try.

Kali looked to her lieutenants who both nodded in agreement, willing to grant Yang that choice. "Alright, you may choose who you wish to accompany you. Within reason of course." she told Yang. She was more than willing to agree to the request, as long as Yang was reasonable with who she wanted.

"I want Blake and Ilia." Yang said as soon as she knew she was allowed to choose. She knew they were good fighters that would fit in well with the Tribe, plus she liked them Blake especially. The only problem was that Kali probably wasn't going to be overly fond of the idea, given that Blake was her daughter and only surviving relative.

Adam and Sienna were visibly shocked by Yang's choice, and Kali didn't respond immediately. It wasn't exactly an easy position she had been put in by Yang's decision. Blake was her daughter, so naturally she wanted to keep her safe. But the alliance was a big deal, and she didn't want to put it at risk if she could avoid it.

Yang could sense Kali's internal conflict, so she did what she could to resolve the conflict. "Before you say no, think of it this way. Blake is more than capable of defending herself, and my training will make her an even more capable fighter. Ilia is no pushover either, and there's no way she would let Blake come to any harm. Plus, she would have the whole of my tribe to keep her safe. She'd be completely untouchable." she reasoned, hoping to sway Kali and get her to agree.

Kali couldn't deny that what Yang was saying was true, and the way she had put it made it sound like good idea. "As long as Blake is okay with it, I believe we have a deal." she told Yang. She came to the conclusion that Yang was right, and she was willing to let Blake go with her.

"I believe so." Yang responded, satisfied with the outcome of their discussion and certain that Blake and Ilia would be onboard with the idea. "I think we should go and ask her about it now." she then suggested, wanting to finalize the deal. She was pretty sure her mother would be proud of her for the way she was handling things, and she thought she was doing a pretty good job of leading the tribe.

"Lead the way." responded a now more relaxed Kali. She was sure that Blake would decide to go along with it, so she felt like they were on the verge of agreeing on the alliance. For the first time in a long time, she was actually feeling optimistic about something.

As instructed, Yang led Kali and her lieutenants back to where Blake and the others were waiting for them. Excitement was starting to build within her, at the prospect of getting to spend a lot more time around Blake. She just had to hope that Blake gave the response she was expecting.

The four of them soon reached Blake and the others. "What's going on?" Blake asked them. She was sure they'd been discussing their alliance, but it didn't look to her like they'd reached any kind of agreement. She wasn't sure to make of what was happening.

"We need to ask something of you." Kali explained, relieved that she didn't have to deliver any bad news. The end of the negotiations and the start of the alliance was in sight, all that was left to do was for the ask the question and see what Blake wanted.

"Alright, ask away." Blake told her, slightly concerned about what they wanted from her. She was sure they wouldn't ask too much of her, but she could tell whatever it was was important.

Kali decided it was best to explain the situation to Blake first. "I think we owe you an explanation first, before we ask you for anything. I discussed the alliance with the Branwens with Adam and Sienna, and they agreed to it on three conditions. Yang has already agreed to two of the three, but we needed to come to you about the final one." she explained, giving Blake an idea of what was going on and why they had come to her. She then turned to Yang and asked "Do you want to ask her or should I?"

"I'll do it." Yang told her, before turning to Blake. "So, the third condition is that we have to keep two members of the White Fang with us wherever we go, to make sure we stand up for the Faunus and don't turn on you. Anyway, they let me choose who we keep with us. Which brings me to the question. Would you and Ilia be willing to do it?" she asked, leaving it all down to the younger Belladonna.

Blake froze up at the question, she couldn't believe what was happening. It certainly wasn't what she'd expected to be asked, and she wasn't immediately sure of what her answer was going to be. But all that was at the back of her mind, all she could really focus on was the fact that Yang had chosen her.

"Blake?" asked a concerned Ilia, who was waiting for an answer just like everyone else. Blake's decision was important to her, as it would affect her as much as it would affect Blake. Whatever was decided, she would go along with it. She would stick by Blake's side no matter what, even if it meant following the Branwens wherever they went.

Suddenly it became clear to Blake exactly what she had to do. Her fascination with Yang and her opinion of the tribe, drove her to the conclusion that there was only one answer she could give. She knew Ilia would go along with her decision and she knew that she would be kicking herself later if she didn't do what she felt she had to. So, she smiled awkwardly at Yang and said "I would be happy to."

Yang couldn't help smiling back at Blake. Needless to say, she was delighted with the answer. "Thanks, I promise you won't regret it." she said. She would make sure that no harm came to Blake, and she really liked the idea of having her around all the time.

With that settled, there was only one thing left to do. "Well Yang, it looks like we have ourselves an alliance." Kali said, as she extended a hand to her fellow chief. They were about to make history and forge a powerful alliance that would have been completely unimaginable before the emergence of the Grimm.

Yang took her hand and shook it "It looks like we do." she said. With that, the alliance became official. Now the White Fang and the Branwen Tribe would stand together against whatever Remnant could throw at them.

* * *

**I hope that chapter wasn't awful. Anyway, please feel free to follow, favorite and review if you thinks it's worth the time and effort. See you next time.**


	7. A Place to Stay

**I'm back with by far the longest chapter I have written for this story, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The remainder of the voyage was dedicated to the intensive training of both the White Fang and the new members of the Branwen Tribe, by Yang and Vernal. All free time was dedicated to sleeping and eating, with no time for sitting around doing nothing. The time flew by and it seemed like no time at all before the coast of Vale came into view.

Everyone aboard the two ships stood on the deck and watched as the vast capital city grew on the horizon, and they rapidly closed in on their destination. They had survived the nightmare that Mistral had become and the long voyage to Vale, now they were finally reaching civilization and relative safety, it was the start of new lives for many of them.

By the time the ships reached the dock a crowd had assembled to see them. They could clearly tell that it was the last ship to leave Argus and a damaged pirate ship tied together, so obviously it drew a lot of attention. But the people on the ships didn't care if they had an audience or not, they just wanted to return to dry land. They all gathered up the things they were taking with them, and prepared to get off the ships as quickly as possible.

People made their way off the ships as soon as they were docked, but they were quickly in their by a group of armed Valese soldiers who had come to see who they were. "Who's in charge here?" demanded one of the soldiers, who didn't seem particularly happy about the new arrivals. It was obvious that they weren't expected and weren't really welcome.

In response to the soldiers question, Winter, Yang and Kali made their way to the front of the group. The three of them had become the leaders, Yang and Kali led their tribes and Winter led everyone else, so technically they were in charge. "That would be us." Winter told the soldier, once the three of them reached him.

In response to Winter, the soldier shook his head and said "Is this some kind of joke, where's your actual leader?" Then he looked at all the men in the group behind them, clearly not believing that the three women in front of him couldn't possibly be in charge. Needless to say, his attitude was not appreciated by anyone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang demanded, as she fronted up to him ready for a fight. In different circumstances she would have killed him immediately and her mother would probably have done it any way, but in this situation she settled of intimidation. She was ready to make him regret what he said if she needed to, but it would make things a lot more difficult for her and anyone else if she did.

The soldier obviously didn't take the hint or realize who he was talking to "Are you trying to threaten me girl?" he growled at Yang, brushing her off and not seeing her as a threat purely because she was a woman. Yang's had went straight to her knife when he said that, ready to gut him like the pig he was. He was wearing armor and carrying a sword, but that wouldn't stop her if he kept things up.

"If you want to keep living I suggest you stop talking and start listening." Winter told the man, knowing Yang would kill him on the spot if he kept things up. She wouldn't particularly mind if Yang killed him were it not for the fact that it would damage relations with Vale, so she restrained herself and tried to help the man out of the hole he had dug himself into.

The soldier turned his attention from Yang to Winter. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he demanded, clearly still not realizing who he was talking to and how much trouble he was getting himself into.

"My name is Winter Schnee, and these two are Chiefs Belladonna and Branwen. We are in charge here, so I suggest you start showing some respect." Winter told him, putting him in his place and telling him exactly who he was talking to. Hopefully it would be enough to get through to him.

Upon hearing their name, the man froze and a look of horror appeared on his face as he realized who they were. He was suddenly extremely apologetic "Please forgive me I didn't realize it was you, welcome to Vale." he said, bowing to them before backing away. It must have hit him how badly he had messed up and how close he came to death.

"That's better. Now why don't you go and get your superior, we need to speak with them." Kali told him, speaking to him for the first time. She wasn't just going to let what he said slide, she wanted to speak to his commanding officer. While they were at it she would ask why they had sent troops to stop them on the dock.

The man nodded and headed off in the direction of the city. The rest of the soldiers stayed in place, preventing anyone from getting into the city. Even though they were finally getting the respect they deserved, they still weren't happy with the way they were being treated. After all, some of those with them were actually Valese soldiers themselves.

It didn't take long for the soldier to return, with his commanding officer by his side. The commanding officer was a tall thin man with wild green hair, and he made his way over to them quickly when he saw them from a distance, leaving the soldier behind. "Miss Schnee, Chief Belladonna, Chief Branwen, please accept my apologies. My name is Bartholomew Oobleck, I'm the city's head of security." he said as he reached them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, why did you send you're troops to meet us?" Winter asked, wanting know why there was such a hostile response to their arrival. That was her primary concern, the issues they had with the soldier could wait.

"It was just a precaution in case you were a threat, we weren't expecting. The survivors from Argus said there wouldn't be anyone else." Oobleck explained. It was clear that nobody had expected them to survive the Grimm attack on Argus, which did go some way to explaining why Vale was being so cautious, the ships could have been carrying Grimm for all they knew.

"Understandable. But that doesn't explain the hostility of your men." Kali told him. It was obvious that they weren't Grimm and the weren't hostile, so there was no reason for their treatment. They should have been welcomed with open arms as far as she was concerned.

"I do apologize for that, you are more than welcome here. I will see to it that my men are disciplined for their actions." Oobleck responded apologetically, he had no problems with them unlike his men. He was perfectly civil and friendly.

"Great. You can start by telling that one how close he came to me gutting him." Yang told him, while glaring at the soldier they had spoken to initially. Though she was acting calm, she was still furious at the man and would have happily killed him if she could get away with it. Nobody spoke to her like he had and got away with it.

"I will make sure of it Chief Branwen, I assure you it won't happen again." Oobleck told her sincerely. He wouldn't say no to her, he found her just as intimidating as everyone else did. There was very little he would be able to do if she was to turn, so it was a good idea to appease her.

"Good, because next time I won't hold back. Now can we get out of here, we've got things to do?" Yang responded. They had been kept on the dock for far too long, she and the tribe had things to do, things they couldn't do while on the dock.

"Of course, you have the freedom of the city and the kingdom." Oobleck responded. After saying that he gave the order for his men to allow them through, before leading them away. There was no reason to stop them or keep them any longer, so he wasn't going.

With that, the survivors of Argus were allowed in. So they headed into the city, as the as assembled crowd watched on. A lot of people had come to see them, many of them refugees from Mistral. They all watched the survivors in amazement, struggling to believe that they had survived the final battle against the Grimm. Some of them, the last people out of Argus, cheered them on as they passed, they were grateful to them for holding off the Grimm long enough to allow the evacuation to happen.

* * *

Once they were off the dock the Branwen Tribe, Ilia and Blake met up again, after having been split up upon arrival. With them they had all of their possessions, weapons, and everything they had been able to loot from the pirate ship. "What's the plan now Yang?" Vernal asked, ready for whatever Yang had planned. Now they had reached Vale, they could get on with rebuilding the tribe and everything else they needed to do.

"We need to find a place to stay while we're here, I'm planning on us sticking around here for a while." Yang responded. There were a lot of things she wanted and needed to do in the city, which meant they'd have to find somewhere to live for the duration of their stay. So her priority was finding somewhere before every inn in the city filled up, everything else could wait.

"Sounds like a plan, hopefully there's room for us somewhere." Vernal replied. The city was extremely crowded and she was expecting it to be quite difficult to find a place to stay, everywhere was likely to be packed full of Mistrali refugees. Fortunately, they had plenty of money to pay for accommodation thanks to their encounter with the pirates.

"Can I make a request before we go?" Weiss asked. There was one thing she desperately wanted to do before they ventured any further into the city, something she would regret not doing.

"Go and say goodbye to your sister." Yang told her, knowing exactly what Weiss was thinking. She knew that Winter would be going back to Atlas and that it probably be a long time before the Schnee sisters would see each other again, so she wasn't going to stop them saying goodbye to each other. After all, she would want the chance to say goodbye to Vernal if they were going to be apart for a long time.

Weiss nodded "It won't take long, I promise." she said, before heading over to where Winter was. She had been desperate to say goodbye and now she had effectively been ordered to do it, so she weaved her way to the crowds until she had reached her sister. Winter was surrounded by troops from Mistral, Vale and Atlas as she planned their next move, but Weiss was still able to get to her.

Winter immediately stopped what she was doing and turned her attention to Weiss. "Weiss, it's good to see you again, I thought you and the tribe would have left by know." she said. She was quite surprised to see her sister, having half expected her and the Branwens to have headed off as soon as possible. She was glad to see that it wasn't the case, wanting a chance to speak to her before heading back to Atlas.

"I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, I don't know if or when we'll get to see each other again." Weiss told her. She would have never forgiven herself if she hadn't seen Winter again, she honestly didn't know if they would ever meet again after they parted. Unless she returned to Atlas or Winter left Atlas again after returning there, it was unlikely that they ever would see each other again.

"Well I'm glad you're here, there's something I need to say to you before you go." Winter started, needing to say something to her while she still had the chance. "Whatever happens, don't become like our Father. You're nothing like him now and I'm sure you never will be, but please do everything in your power to ensure you don't become like him. Returning to Atlas may corrupt me and make me like him, but that's fine as long as you don't carry on his legacy. As long as you do that, it doesn't matter what happens to me." she then said, being deadly serious. As long as her sister didn't end up like their father, it didn't matter what happened to her.

"You don't have to worry about me, I'll never let my self become like him. I'd rather die than end up like that bastard." Weiss said. She wouldn't end up like Jacques, there was no way she could become like him. He was an intolerant and hateful megalomaniac, she was nothing like that and she was sure that she would never change. She didn't hate the faunus like he did, she wasn't obsessed with gaining power, influence and wealth like he did, and she had no desire to be like that. So Winter really didn't need to worry about it.

"I'm glad to hear that. You'll be fine as long as you keep telling yourself that, you won't need me to guide you. It's a shame that we have to be apart for so long and I wish there was another way, but I know you'll be okay. I'm proud of you Weiss and I'm really going to miss you." Winter responded, revealing to Weiss how she truly felt. She was extremely proud of her sister and she really hated the fact that they wouldn't see each other for a long time if ever.

"I'll miss you too, but I promise I'll stay strong and not let you down. Now I should probably get going, I promised this wouldn't take long. Goodbye Winter, I love you." Weiss said, before hugging her sister. They were surrounded by people, but she didn't care who heard or saw what she was saying and doing, there was a chance she would never see Winter again so she wasn't going to hold back.

Winter hugged back "I love you too Weiss." she whispered to her sister. The held each other for a moment before separating. As Weiss started to walk away in the direction of the Branwens, Winter said her last words to her "Goodbye Weiss, don't forget what I said." doing her best to hide the sadness in her voice.

Weiss turned and gave her sister a parting wave, before vanishing into the crowd and making her way back over to the tribe. She was sad that they had to part, but she was also glad as parting from Winter marked the start of her new life where she could finally be more than just her name. She soon reached the other again and the six of them headed deeper into the city in search of a place to stay.

* * *

"It'll take forever to find somewhere just by walking around, we'll need to ask someone for suggestions." Yang said as they walked through the city. None of them had been to Vale before and they had no idea where they were going, so it would take a long time for them to find somewhere to stay unless they asked some of the locals for recommendations.

The streets were crowded so it wasn't hard to find someone to ask. "Hey can we ask you something?" Vernal said to a man coming the other way. She wasn't used to being nice to the strangers, but she tried her best to be friendly and not intimidating. Unfortunately it was easier said than done for a former bandit.

The man froze as he spotted who was talking to him and all the weapons being carried by the members of the tribe. "Please don't hurt me, I don't have anything to give you." he said, clearly thinking they were going to rob him in the street.

"Relax we aren't trying to rob you, we just want your help." Vernal tried to assure him. She could see the fear in his eyes, it was something she had seen many times in the past, but in this case she and the others genuinely meant him no harm.

"You want my help?" the man asked in confusion. He obviously didn't trust them and found it hard to believe that they had no bad intentions, but he did seem to relax slightly after Vernal spoke again.

"Yeah we're looking for a place to stay and we were wondering if you had any suggestions." Vernal explained. She didn't want to waste any time she just wanted to see if he could recommended anywhere and then go straight there, that was what they all wanted after the long voyage.

"Oh, well you could try Junior's. The place is kind of rough but you seem like you can handle it." the man responded. It was easy to see that Vernal and the others could handle themselves and deal with any trouble that came their way, so a place that was considered rough wouldn't be a problem for them.

"Alright, where is this place?" Vernal asked him. She was glad that he had a place in mind, and she really didn't care if he thought it was dangerous, in fact it sounded like fun to her. All she and the others needed to know was where the place was.

Fortunately Junior's was surprisingly close. The man pointed to a building at the end of the street "That's it there, most people are too scared to go in there so there should be plenty of rooms for you." he explained.

"Thanks for the help, here take this." Vernal responded gratefully, as she handed him some of the money she'd taken from the pirate ship. With that, the six of them left him alone and headed for Junior's. It didn't look too bad from the outside, which was a good start.

"Did he say this place was dangerous?" Weiss asked, slightly concerned about going into a place that obviously had a bad reputation. It wasn't the sort of place she was used to going into, so she really didn't know what to expect. She wasn't worried for her safety given who she was with, but she was concerned that the place would be more trouble than it was worth.

"He said it was rough, but that won't be a problem for us. If there's any trouble we'll handle it, it can't be any worse than what we've already been through." Vernal told her. What she said was true, unless the place was crawling with Grimm it would be nothing to them, the six of them were more than a match for a bunch of overly aggressive drunks and common criminals.

"She's right Weiss, it's them who should be worried not us." Yang added. Each of them had killed people some of them a lot more than others, the chances were that they would be the most intimidating and dangerous people in there. If anyone made the mistake of trying to give them trouble, they would be dealt with swiftly and violently, that was what happened to people who crossed the Branwen Tribe.

"I'm not worried, I just don't want our here to get off to a bad start. The last thing we need know is to get into a fight with a bunch of strangers for no good reason." Weiss responded. They had just arrived in Vale and were only looking for a place to stay, they weren't looking for any trouble and she wanted to make sure they avoided it, at least to begin with.

"I'm sure we won't get into any fights. If the people here have any sense, they'll stay away and not try to cause any problems. Now, let's see what this place is really like." Yang said as they reached the door to Junior's. With any look people would see them and the weapons they were carrying and would leave them alone, only a complete idiot would even consider starting anything with them even if they didn't know who they were.

Yang pushed the door open and she and the others walked inside. The first thing they noticed upon entering was that the place was dimly lit, thanks to it's windows all being boarded up and it only being lit by candles spread around the place. The next thing they noticed was that the place was surprisingly crowded given that it was the middle of the day and that there was a lot of activity going on. The place did seem like it would be quite intimidating to the average person, but to them it didn't seem to be as bad as the man had made it out to be.

The six of them were able to walk in and find a booth to sit in without having any real trouble, everyone seemed to concerned with their own things to pay any attention to them and generally stayed out of the way. "I don't see what that guy was talking about, this place is nice enough. As long as the food and drink is good and they can give us somewhere to stay, we should be fine here." Yang commented to the others as they took their seats, the place seemed like paradise compared to what she was used to.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, it sounds like this place is crawling with criminals." Blake responded. Thanks to her ears, she could hear a lot of the hushed conversations that were going on around them. It seemed to her that Junior's was where the criminals of the city went to conduct their shady business, almost everyone in the place seemed to be making deals and discussing their exploits.

"Well that won't be a problem as long as they don't bother us, anyway I'm pretty sure this is where people like me and Vernal belong since we were two of the most wanted people in Remnant before the Grimm turned up." Yang told her. Having been born and raised as a bandit, she wasn't at all concerned by the fact she and the others were surrounded by criminals, it felt like home to her and it would stay that way as long as nobody targeted them.

"I guess you're right, I'm just not used to places like this." Blake responded. The place was nothing like the taverns and inns back in Menagerie, and she wasn't used to seeing criminals operating so openly. So she didn't feel particularly comfortable being there and wouldn't have stuck around if the others weren't there with her.

"I don't think any of us are used to places like this, but we're going to have to get used to it." Yang replied. They were going to be spending a lot of time in places like Junior's, especially if they were going to be travelling around the kingdom in search of more recruits for the tribe.

"I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually." Blake told her, understanding that she would have to be in a lot of places she didn't particularly like during her time with the tribe, so she would just have to learn to relax in such places. That being said, it wouldn't be something she would get used to overnight so she would remain on edge and would continue expecting someone to try something.

"Don't worry Blake, you've got me to keep you safe in places like this. I won't let anyone do anything to you." Ilia the said, trying to reassure her friend. She would do everything in her power to protect Blake, she was sure Blake was already well aware of that, but she still felt the need to remind her. She wanted Blake to feel safe wherever they were, even though she herself didn't particularly like their surroundings.

"She's not the only one, we've all got each other's backs. Now I'm going to get us some drinks and to find out if they've got any rooms for us, the rest of you just wait here until I get back." Yang told everyone, before standing up and heading over to the bar. Unlike some of the others, she didn't feel like she was in danger, so she had no problem with going to the bar by her self and leaving the others to take care of each other while she was away.

Yang had to push her way through a crowd to reach the bar, but nobody gave her any trouble for it, either not noticing or seeing that any confrontation with her would be one they would lose. When she did reach the bar she found that there was a tall muscular man standing behind it, he looked like he would be intimidating to most people, but she didn't fear him at all. He looked down on her and asked "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"What do you mean a girl like me?" Yang asked in response. She could tell that he hadn't realize who she was or noticed her weapons, and that he thought she was just some stupid girl who'd walked into a place where she didn't belong and wasn't safe. She didn't know whether to be amused or angry about that, since she was probably the most dangerous person in the building and it was exactly the sort of place she belonged.

"Look around Blondie. This isn't the kind of place you want to hang around, there are a lot of people here who'd love nothing more than to kidnap, rape and murder you." he told her. He was clearly trying to intimidate her, but it wasn't going to work. He really didn't know who he was dealing with, but he would soon learn his lesson.

"I'd like to see them try. Now how about you stop trying to scare me and start trying to serve me." Yang responded. Part of her wanted to hurt him badly for calling her Blondie, but she decided that it would be more trouble than it was worth. She just wanted a drink and a place to stay, beating up the idiot behind the bar wasn't high enough on her list of priorities.

"You don't take a hint do you Blondie, you should get out of here while you still have the chance." he told her, not realizing the irony of his statement. He was playing a dangerous game calling her Blondie and treating her like a lost little girl, in the past she would have killed people for treating her in such a way and she wasn't above doing it again if she felt the need to.

"That sounds like a threat, I wouldn't recommend threatening me." Yang replied. It sounded like he wanted something bad to happen to her, which was not a good idea. She was really starting to consider taking out her knife and showing the man what it was like to make an enemy of the Branwen Tribe, but she wouldn't resort to that quite yet.

"What are you going to do about it Blondie? You think I'm scared of you?" the man responded, it was a poor choice of words. There was a lot she could do about it and her would be powerless to stop her, he should have been scared of her, extremely scared. While she wasn't the bandit she had been, Yang was still one of the last people anyone would dare to cross and she had back up if she needed it.

At this point Yang noticed two girls approaching her, one from either side. They were clearly twins and seemed to be of a similar age to herself. They were very well dressed considering where they were and it was pretty obvious they were bad news, especially thanks to the blades they were doing a poor job of concealing. "You might want to call your attack dogs off before I make a mess of their pretty faces." she told the man behind the bar. She wasn't scared, she was ready to make an example of the two girls.

"You don't stand a chance against my girls." he growled at her. It was unclear why the man was so hostile given that she only wanted a drink and a place to stay, but he was and he would have to suffer for it. He wasn't getting the message that he was getting himself into something he couldn't handle, so Yang was going to have to spell it out for him.

Yang shrugged her shoulders "Don't say I didn't warn you." she said before stepping away from the bar, and heading for the two girls who were no standing side by side with their weapons drawn. Yang had a hammer and an axe with her but she didn't bother drawing them, instead she just took out her knife which was all she needed.

One of the girls made the mistake of trying to charge at Yang, a mistake which Yang took full advantage of. She expertly dodged the girl's blades and kicked her legs out from under her, sending her sprawling to the floor with all her momentum. Then without hesitation Yang went after the other one. The second girl held her position and attacked with a flurry of slashes.

Yang countered the slashed of the second girl catching one of her blades with her own and knocking it from her hand with brute force. Before the girl could get her with her other blade, Yang grabbed her knife wielding arm with her free hand to restrain her, before slamming her knee into the girl's stomach. The girl was winded falling to her knees and dropping her other knife.

With the second girl dealt with for the time being, Yang turned her attention to the first one again. She was back on her feet and on the attack again, but Yang was ready for her. She sidestepped the attack and managed to get behind her, slashing her across the back. The girl was wounded but she turned and continued attacking, but Yang had her right where she wanted her.

The girl slashed at her with both knives simultaneously, but Yang used her knife to parry one blow and using her free hand to grab the girl's other arm. She finished her counter attack by forcing the girl's arms apart, and headbutting her in the face. She could feel the girls nose breaking, which was quickly follower by the sound of her knives dropping to the floor.

Yang threw the girl to the ground, just in time to take on the other girl who had now recovered. She ducked under the girls attack and slashed her across the stomach. The injury wasn't enough to be fatal, but it was enough to take the girl down. She dropped her knives for a final time and curled up on the floor with her hands on her wound. With that, the two girls were left rolling around on the floor dealing with their injuries.

Having dealt with the girls swiftly and without getting a scratch on herself, Yang walked back to the bar. The crowd had cleared by know, staying well away from Yang. The man was still standing behind the bar, but he was in complete shock at seeing Yang deal with the two girls so easily. "Now will you serve me or do I have to do the same to you?" she asked him, not deterred by the fact he'd sent people after her.

"You can have anything you want, on the house." he said. Now he feared Yang as much as he was meant to, he obviously wasn't as tough as he initially made himself out to be. After all Yang had let him and the girls off pretty lightly, and he was scared enough to give Yang whatever she wanted for free.

"That's what I like to hear. Now how about six of whatever drinks you sell here." Yang told him. She would get the drinks first and then she would make him give her and other rooms to stay in. She hadn't wanted any trouble, but it turned out that the trouble had actually made things a lot cheaper for her. He seemed sufficiently scared to say yes to any request she had.

"Coming right up. Is there anything else I can get you?" he responded, as he went about getting her drinks. Yang was quite pleased with herself for the nervous wreck she'd turned the man into, she found it amusing how much he'd changed his tune.

"Actually there is. I need somewhere for me and my five friends to stay, and I hear you've got some rooms." Yang told him. Even if he didn't have any rooms free, she was sure he could make him change that if she wanted to.

The man gulped "You want to stay here?" he asked nervously. It was clear that he would have preferred it if she wasn't sticking around, but he was too scared of being beaten up or worse to actually say it. That was fine by Yang.

"Yes we do. You got a problem with that big guy?" Yang responded threateningly. She wasn't really threatening him just trying to scare him even more, it was a way of continuing to punish him without resorting to any more violence. As long as he gave her and the others a place to stay, she would let him off without any more damage to him, his people or his business.

"I've got two rooms you can have, they should be big enough for you and your friends." the man explained, he did his best to regain his composure and not seem as intimidate as he was, but Yang could still hear a hint of fear in his voice and she could see in his eyes that he was expecting her to drag him over the bar and lay into him at any moment.

"That'll do. Now, how about you bring those drinks to my table for me. I'm sure my friends will love to meet you." Yang told him, before walking away from the bar again and heading in the direction of the others. She was pleased to find that he did what she asked, following a short distance behind her with the drinks on a tray. She was taking full advantage of the fear she'd put in him.

"Problem?" Vernal asked, as Yang returned to the booth. She'd seen and heard things going down and had almost intervened, but she was well aware that Yang could handle herself and she had been proven right about that. But still, she was curious as to why Yang had ended up in a fight with two people, when she'd only gone to buy a few drinks.

"There was, but not anymore." Yang answered as she took her seat. A moment later the man arrived with the drinks, placing them on the table in front of each of them. It was clear to see that he didn't know what to make of them given that they were just a bunch of teens, but he was still scared of them and didn't want to risk incurring their wrath.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Yang said to the man before he could leave, she wasn't done with him yet, she had to bring it up in front of everyone. He didn't deserve to be forgive as far as she was concerned.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was just trying to scare you off." the man apologized. He was likely only saying that because whatever he did actually have in mind had backfired on him. Whatever the case was, Yang wasn't going to accept his apology.

"Wait, you tried to scare Yang? You don't know who she is do you?" Vernal asked. The answer was plain to see, nobody who knew who Yang was, would dare to try and scare her. It was almost funny how clueless he was, and Vernal looked forward to his reaction when he learned the truth.

The man looked at Yang in confusion, not knowing what Vernal meant. He had to acknowledge that Yang was scary and dangerous, but he didn't know she was anyone important or anyone he should be able to identify.

"Oh right, I never got to introduce myself. The name's Yang, Yang Branwen. I'm the new chief of the Branwen Tribe." she told him. Thanks to the man starting things off on the wrong foot, she hadn't had a chance to introduce herself to him, which would have made things so much quicker and easier.

In response the man just froze, an understandable reaction for someone who just found out that they had crossed the Branwen Tribe and tried to have the Chief killed without realizing it. His life was probably flashing before his eyed and he was likely expecting his life to be ended in the near future.

"Hey, snap out of it. We won't do anything to you as long as you keep cooperating and don't try anything stupid again. You can relax, for now." Yang told him, trying to get him going again. They really didn't need him standing next to them completely frozen in terror, as entertaining as it was.

Eventually he did snap out of it. "I swear I didn't mean anything, I wouldn't have said anything if I'd known who you were. I'll make sure nobody gives you any more trouble, the girls won't bother you again, neither will my other guests and customers." he said to Yang once he regained his composure, he had a new found respect for her and the others now he knew who he was dealing with. "I'm Junior by the way, and this is my place." he then added, finally introducing himself.

"You don't know how lucky you are to be alive Junior, you better not make the same mistakes again or I'll kill you for Yang. Now you should probably get out of here and get back to work, we'll come and get you when we need you." Vernal told him, taking out her knife and pointing it at him to emphasize her point. He was extremely lucky to be alive and she was more than ready to slaughter him if it came to it, but for the time being she and the others were done with him.

"Of course, please make yourselves at home." Junior responded, before making a hasty retreat back behind the bar. It was safe to say that the Tribe and their two companions had a place to stay free of charge for the foreseeable future. Thanks to Junior and his grave error, things were going quite well for them and they hadn't spent any money apart from what Vernal gave to the man who directed them to the place.

"Alright everyone, the fun's over for now. Let's drink up and then take a look around this place, he did say make ourselves at home." Yang said to everyone once Junior was gone. She wanted to explore the place fully since they were going to be staying, then they could get on with the other things they needed to do while they were in Vale.

Another word wasn't spoken until after the girls had all gulped down their drinks, the long voyage had made them extremely thirsty for anything other than what they had for rations on the ships. Whatever it was that Junior had given them, it was surprisingly good, which was at least one thing he had going for him. If the food and accommodation were as good as the drinks, Yang and the others would be more than okay with sticking around for as long as they needed to.

* * *

"Alright, time to see what the rest of this place is like." Yang said once they'd all finished their drinks. She then proceeded to get up from her seat and wait for the others to do the same. Once they were all up and ready to go, she led them over to the back of the room they were in. There was a staircase at the back of the room, which she assumed led up to the bedrooms.

"Hopefully upstairs is a little nicer than down here." Ruby said, finally commenting on the place. She hadn't said much since they arrived in Vale, she'd never been to the capital but just being back in the kingdom reminded her of her family and everything she'd lost, so she wasn't exactly in high spirits but she didn't feel like complaining and just tried to move on from the feelings of sadness and loss.

"As long as there's a place to sleep and enough room for all of us, I'm happy. If not, I think I need to have another word with Junior and his girls." Yang responded. She would sleep pretty much anywhere thanks to the way she had grown up, so she would be fine with wherever they ended up spending their nights as long as it met her and the others' basic requirements.

The six of them headed up the stairs and found themselves in a long hallway that seemed to run the entire length of the building, there were multiple doors branching off the hallway. "Any idea which rooms are ours?" Vernal asked as she looked around. As much as she wanted to go snooping around, they couldn't just let themselves into every room and bother the other guests, they just needed to find their rooms.

"Nope, we'll have to ask Junior. I didn't think there would be this many rooms in this place." Yang responded. The building was proving to be a lot bigger than it initially seemed. "Let's go back down for now, see what else there is downstairs. I don't want to bother the other guests, since we're going to be sharing this place with them." she then said, instructing the others to go back. She wanted to be on good terms with the other guests, so she wouldn't risk walking into the wrong rooms.

They went back down and walked past the bar, finding that the injured girls were no longer lying on the ground in pain. On the other side of the bar to where they had been, there was a set of stairs leading down. "Alright let's see what's down here, if Junior's up to anything shady it'll be down here." Yang said, before leading the group down the stairs.

"I wouldn't put it past him to be up to something, not with the sort of people his customers are." Weiss commented, as they made their way down the stairs. With the characters Junior served on a daily basis and the fact he had armed guards hanging around, it wasn't hard to imagine him having some kind of criminal side business going on.

"Well, we're about to find out." Vernal responded, as they reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the cellar. What they found was rather disappointing, most of the space was taken up by barrels, with the exception of a small area that had a few pieces of furniture. The only particularly interesting thing about the cellar was that the two girls Yang had fought were down their, doing their best to bandage each other's wounds.

"Oh, it's you again." Yang said to the girls when she saw them. She wasn't really sure of what else to say to them, she didn't know whether to feel bad for them or not since they were probably only doing their jobs and following orders. She didn't regret hurting them since they went after her, but she could sympathize with them if they had been forced into a fight with her by Junior.

The two girls looked over at her, their expressions a mixture of fear and anger. "What are you doing down here Blondie? You already beat us." they asked at the same time, being weirdly synchronized. It was clear that they were expecting her to continue their fight or rub in the fact that she single handedly bested the both like it was nothing.

"Well Junior told us to make ourselves at home, and it's not like I knew you were down here. We didn't come here looking for you if that's what you're worried about, as far as I'm concerned what happened between us before doesn't matter anymore." Yang responded, wanting to make it cleat to them that she didn't want any more trouble with them. She actually found herself wanting to make peace with them, which was something she rarely did with anyone.

"Are you serious, you slice us both up and break my nose then act like nothing happened?" asked one of the girls in disbelief and annoyance, she wasn't as willing to move on from what happened. They didn't really have a right to be annoyed in Yang's opinion, since they had tried to do the same if not worse to her when they had attacked.

"Look, we don't have a problem with you. It's Junior who set you on me, we blame him for what happened not you." Yang replied. While she didn't like that they tried to attack her, she didn't blame them for doing what they did since it was on Junior's orders. But ultimately it didn't matter if they held a grudge against her for defending herself and beating them or not, they were of no consequence to her or the tribe. Unless of course, they decided they wanted to make an enemy of the tribe.

"Stop trying to be the bigger person bitch. You came into our place, threatened our boss, then beat us up, we did nothing wrong." the girl with the unbroken nose responded, throwing what Yang said back in her face.

"Hey, your boss threatened her first. We didn't come here looking for trouble." Blake said in Yang's defense. She had heard everything that had gone on and would have stepped in if Yang hadn't handled things so well. She really didn't like the fact that the twins were pinning the blame on Yang, Junior and his unnecessary hostility had caused everything, not Yang.

The girls both glared at Blake "Junior only threatens people who are bad news, so you people must be bad news." one of them said. They weren't going to accept that they were in the wrong, but that didn't matter as long as they stayed out of the way and didn't try to start anything.

"Suit yourself. But a word of advice, don't even think about trying to fight any of us again, you will lose and we won't be merciful." Yang hit back, this time she was being deadly serious. If there was a next time, they would be coming out of it with a lot worse than a few cuts and a broken nose. Hopefully that would be all the warning they would need.

After that awkward encounter the six of them left the cellar and went back up to where the bar was. "I'll ask him which rooms are ours, we need to drop some of our stuff off before we go anywhere else." Yang said to them, before walking up to the bar to see Junior again. She was planning on going back out into the city, and didn't want everyone to be carrying all of their possessions and weapons with them when they did. Plus she wanted to actually see the rooms.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, the group was back upstairs and heading to their rooms. Junior had told them that they had the two rooms at the far end of the hall on either side, and had given them keys so they could lock the rooms when they went out. "Let's take a look at these rooms and then decide who's sleeping where." Yang said, as she pushed open the door to one of the rooms.

As it turned out, the rooms were perfect for their needs. Each room had three single beds as well as places for them to keep their clothes and all their other possessions. The both also had windows, fireplaces and were surprisingly clean. It was a world away from the chaos, clutter and darkness of the downstairs and the cellar. "This is surprisingly pleasant, I was expecting much worse." Weiss commented, relieved that the conditions were far better than she had feared they would be.

"I agree with Weiss, this is way better than I thought it would be." Ilia added, shocked at how nice the accommodation was. In her mind, it was probably the best they could hope for in the city, without having to spend a crazy amount of money. It was much better than the conditions she and the others had been sleeping in while fleeing from the Grimm, it would do nicely.

"Well, now we just need to decided who goes where. Blake and Ilia why don't you take that room and I'll take this one with Vernal. Weiss, Ruby, you can decide between yourselves which room each of you goes in." Yang said. It was obvious that Vernal wouldn't want to be away from her and that Ilia wouldn't want to be away from Blake, so it was quite simple deciding who went were, apart from Ruby and Weiss.

"I don't mind which room I'm in, you can choose Ruby." Weiss said, not bothered by who she was sharing a room with. She liked and trusted Yang and Vernal so she would be fine sharing with them, but she also like and trusted Blake and Vernal and would be fine sharing with them too. So she left it to Ruby in case she had a preference.

"I don't really mind either. We should flip a coin, we've got enough of them." Ruby responded. It was a tough choice to make since she was happy either way, so flipping a coin would be the best way to find a solution since Weiss was equally neutral and Yang was leaving it up to the two of them.

"Alright, Heads I go with Yang and Vernal and you go with Blake and Ilia. Tails you go with Yang and Vernal and I go with Blake and Ilia" Weiss said, as she took out a coin. It wasn't something she was used to doing, since her father had always made her decisions for her. So it was actually quite a liberating experience getting to do it. She flipped the coin and it landed on Tails.

"Well that's that cleared up. Everyone drop your stuff off and then we can head out." Yang said, and the others did as she told them. She, Vernal and Ruby headed into their rooms and put away everything they didn't need, and Weiss, Blake and Ilia did the same in the other room. Once they were done they walked out and locked the doors behind them, to keep their stuff safe from the less than trustworthy people that the building was crawling with.

As they were heading down the hall ready to go back out, they encountered two of the other guests. There was a well dressed redheaded man and an equally well dressed and extremely short girl with mismatched eyes and hair of three different colors. "Ah, you must be Junior's latest victims." the man said jokingly, as he smiled at the six of them. The girl didn't say anything, but she did wave at them.

"Actually, I would say Junior is our victim." Yang responded jokingly. In this case they definitely weren't victims, they were getting a place to stay free of charge along with all the food and drink they could possibly need.

The man chuckled in response, before extending a hand to Yang. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Roman Torchwick and this here is Neo." he said, as Yang took his hand and shook it. "Now, who might you be?" he then asked, gesturing to Yang and the other five.

"Yang, Yang Branwen. This is my sister Vernal, and these are my friends Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Ilia." Yang responding, not bothering to go into details about the Tribe or the White Fang. She expected Roman and Neo would be able to gather everything they needed from her name alone.

"Ah, a Branwen. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, we won't keep you any longer, no doubt we'll see each other lately." Roman responded, before he and Neo walked past them and disappeared into one of the rooms.

"They were nice." Ruby commented, she was quite surprised that they encountered such pleasant people given where they were. She had been convinced that the only people they would meet there would be criminals, but Roman and Neo didn't seem like criminals to her.

"I feel like I've heard his name before, back in Atlas." Weiss responded, as they continued on down the hall. Roman's name rang a bell with her, but she couldn't remember why. All she knew was that he must have been a big deal, that was the only reason she could think of for why she knew his name. That was all the thought she gave it, she had more pressing concerns than who he was.

"Well, maybe we can ask him more about himself next time we see him. Now, we've got some shopping to do." Yang replied, as they headed down the stairs. They needed clothes, weapons, and a few other things, before they could set out on their mission to rebuild the Tribe. So that was the next thing on their list of things to do after finding a place to stay, fortunately one of the many advantages of being in the city was that there was no shortage of stores and stalls selling everything they could ever possibly need.

The six of them made their way through the crowds and out into the streets, leaving Junior's behind and setting out on their shopping trip. For the first time in a long time, they were living somewhat normal lives, if there was such a thing as a normal life for people like them. Whatever the case, it was just nice to be on dry land, far away for the Grimm hordes.

* * *

**There you go, now things are really starting to progress. There should be a lot more happening in the next few chapters, no more sitting around on a boat waiting to get somewhere. Anyway, please feel free to follow, favorite and review this or even PM me.** **Also I guess I should say happy new year, since the next chapter of this won't be out until. See ya.**


End file.
